Pensieve
by Oy Angelina
Summary: She's a Prefect, He's a Marauder; and falling in love might be the best thing that ever happened to either Lily or James. Set during their 6th Year with the rest of MWPP. RATED PRE-OotP - story content may not follow canon revealed in Book 5
1. Knocks & Turns

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 1

Knocks and Turns

By: Oy! Angelina

Lily Evans roamed Diagon Alley listlessly. She was alone (although she had seen and spoken to a few other Hogwarts students in passing) and weighed down by a few bags already. Lily was saving her heavier shopping for later so as not to burden herself anymore than she had already managed to, content to wander into shop after shop, exploring their wares. She committed herself to getting a sundae at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor at some point during the day. Although she wasn't uncomfortable with it, Lily was growing slightly bored being alone with only her thoughts.

Her older sister, Petunia, had made such a fuss about all the attention Lily was getting she demanded her own quality time with their parents. They offered to take her along to Diagon Alley since she had never been there, but Petunia insisted buying Lily's "freakish" school supplies wasn't her idea of a holiday. Petunia's moping and pouting had eventually wore on all the Evans and Lily, feeling a little guilty over her sisters jealousy and hostility, told her parents she was more than able to get all her things for Hogwarts on her own. The Evans dropped Lily off in front of the Leaky Cauldron at ten that morning, promising to retrieve her at six that evening.

That was more than enough time for Lily to have a leisurely afternoon in Diagon Alley and gradually become bored out of her mind.

Finding herself lingering outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, Lily shrugged to herself and decided to go in, passing the pack of young wizard children gawking at whatever top-of-the-line broom was on display in the window. Lily figured her stay within the shop would be relatively brief since her only interest for Quidditch was infrequent at best. Aside from her support of the Gryffindor House team, Lily didn't keep up much with Quidditch on large. She figured it was largely attributed to her not finding the energy to follow along with Muggle sports, let alone ones only found in the wizarding world. Still, she always had a good time watching the House matches and wouldn't mind seeing a professional match sometime, as Quidditch was easily the most exciting sport invented.

Lily stepped into the shop just as James Potter stepped out. Colliding gently into one another, the contents of their bags rustled. Lily would be lying if she said she were surprised to find him there. He was the Chaser, Captain, and all around star player of their House Quidditch team. Hell, it wouldn't have surprised her if she found out James Potter was living out of the back of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

James face lit up when he saw Lily as he (almost self-consciously if Lily didn't know for a fact James had all the confidence in the world) readjusted his circular spectacles and ran a hand through his black mess of hair that wouldn't lay flat if it was charmed to. Lily sighed a little.

It wasn't that she disliked James. They were both Gryffindors and ran in pretty much the same social circles, but James was something of a goof-off in spite of his potent magical skill and relation to a respectable wizarding family. He was cocky, brash, and sometimes even a prat, but James was irredeemably gallant and had a charm to him that made it hard to utterly dislike him.

"Oh, I'm sorry James," Lily apologized casually since no one had been hurt and nothing had been broken.

James bowed jokingly. "Fancy meeting you her, Miss Evans."

James was failing miserably as he attempted to maintain his stiff pretense, showing that formality didn't suit him well.

"Got wind that you're our new House Kill-Joy."

"I'll assume you meant Prefect," Lily said dryly but cracked a smile. She knew James was only teasing and she expected no less from him now, as they were about to enter their 6th Year at Hogwarts.

"Yes well, you only got the position because I didn't want it," James insisted with a grin twitching over his lips.

Lily knew he had meant this as a joke, but considering everyone had James pegged on the fast-track to becoming Headboy, she had no doubt that if he had bothered to apply himself to following at least a fraction of the school rules, he'd be wearing the Prefect badge instead of her.

"I can see how it would be a conflict of interests. You'd have to subtract points from Gryffindor every time you come up with something new and deviant to slip under the noses of the faculty," Lily solemnly nodded. "We'd be in the negatives every time you had a brain storm."

James laughed. Lily was always fond of hearing James laugh, though there were times in the past where it had been at her expense. There was such sincerity to it; letting people around him know he was genuinely amused. Lily sighed, shaking her head and long red hair with it.

"You're not going to make my job easy are you? Lily observed in an almost pleading tone. James flashed her a broad grin as he draped an arm over her shoulders playfully.

"Now where would be the fun in that for either party?" James inquired. "So tell me, Prefect Evans. What does a bloke have to do to find himself in your good graces this year?

"Obey all the school rules," Lily said sweetly. "Particularly the one about sneaking out after hours." She threw the last one in since she knew that James was a repeat offender at late night strolls through Hogwarts to places he didn't really belong.

"See, that's not going to really work for me," James confessed earnestly. "I was kind of hoping I'd be able to buy you off. Names your price, Lily: sweets from Honeydukes? Monthly payoffs of Galleons?"

A wicked smile crept of James.

"I wouldn't be opposed to snogging and shagging if you're so inclined."

Lily shifted out of James grip enough to slap him in the jaw, not nearly as hard as he deserved. James rubbed his face a little, more for effect than pain.

"Crossed the line, did I?" James said dryly.

"If you're curious, the part about "shagging" is where you overplayed your hand," Lily informed curtly as she made her way into Diagon Alley without James, wagging her finger as she left. "Try it again and it'll be five points from Gryffindor."

Lily burned over James's boldness with her, but couldn't deny she was flattered. She slightly regretted slapping him, but she didn't want to encourage James along his pratish ways even if she happened to find something roguishly charming about him. Lily had to maintain some level of respect from him if she wasn't going to let him of his friends walk all over her as a Prefect.

"Bloody Hell, James! I leave you alone for twenty minutes only to find our Prefect smacking the hell out of you?" Sirius Black bellowed as he and Remus Lupin emerged from Gambol & Japes, stocking up on jokes for the upcoming school term.

Sirius, James's best friend, was tall, dark, and very handsome if someone cared to describe him in the simplest terms. Remus, taller than either James or Sirius, was a frailer looking that his friends but his unkempt brown hair and worn expression gave him a certain gentle appeal.

"Would you believe I had it coming?" James smirked.

"Well we knew that already," Remus assured, "we were just curious about the specifics."

"Felt like seeing what my shoe tasted like is all," James replied. Not in the mood the catch hell from his friends, James deflected to a new subject. "Where's Peter?"

"Off getting fitted for new robes, last we saw," Remus said thoughtfully as he glanced up and down the alley. "Probably would have checked for us in Gambol & Japes if he had finished up."

"Let's go find him, hmm?" James suggested. "We should start getting our school stuff anyway."

The Marauders made their way along the length of Diagon Alley on James advice, trading jokes and pointing anything interesting along the way. James occasionally glanced over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lily again in the crowd.

He silently chided himself for his randy joke since it had evidently got her so upset. Why had she got so upset? It was just a joke after all. James thought Lily knew him well enough by now to know that half the time he was joking and the other half he was silent or unconscious.

"Knut for your thoughts, James?" Remus asked as they opened the door to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

James shook his head and shrugged. "Just wondering if there's any way we can convince Kettleburn to let us study women in Care for Magical Creatures is all."

"Now there's a suggestion!" Sirius agreed. "Be a bit more practical than seeing how many fingers the man can lose to a Hippogriff before it's full."

The three boys shared a laugh as Peter Pettigrew joined the three carrying his parcels and laughing as well. He was the shortest and roundest of his friends. Though not necessarily unattractive or outright vulgar, the fact Peter kept company with some of the most popular boys at Hogwarts didn't do much to assist his overall appeal by comparison. Peter couldn't be sure what the joke exactly was but he trusted it was worth a laugh.

"All finished up in here, Wormtail?" Remus inquired.

Peter gave a nod. "Set for now. Where to then?"

"Well we _could_ look about for other people from school?" James coolly offered up. He wanted an excuse to seek out a certain redhead and exchange a quip or two to tide him over until they were all aboard the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of September.

"Such as Lily Evans?" Remus raised an eyebrow in James direction.

"Well if _you_ insist," James relented as casually as he could.

"Ah," was all Remus would say on the matter; however, Sirius managed to find a few more words.

"Well if he didn't I would have!" Sirius admitted boomingly. "I feel like sending her parents an owl profusely thanking them for the gift to the world that is Lily Evans."

Sirius swooned a little overdramatically but he got his point across effectively enough for his friends.

"Fancy her, eh Padfoot?" Remus mastered the obvious. "Not that I blame you but, since when?"

"Bugger…" Sirius ran a hand through his long black hair as he exhaled loudly. "I don't know, maybe 'round last year. Seeing her with James back there just sort of reminded me of how much things can change from 1st Year."

"I'd say!" Peter chimed in. "Name me something that girl _hasn't_ going for her."

"Looks?" Remus tried.

"Better than a Veela," Sirius defended.

"Brains?"

"Could give a sphinx a run for its Galleons!"

"Personality?"

"Her most effective Charms have little to do with wands, Moony."

"So it's decided that Lily Evans is perfect in every manner," Remus settled half seriously.

"I suppose we'll just have to start killing each other until its last man standing then," Peter interjected playfully.

"You three can get started on that if you'd like. I'll just busy myself with actually trying to win her over," Sirius winked. James was tempted to punch his friend in the face at the moment for some reason, but thought it would violate less social norms to simply laugh along.

"Oh come now, Sirius," James finished faking his laugh, "you're more likely to transfer into Slytherin than get Lily Evans as your typical snog and run. You expect us to believe you'd give up your swinging life as the most eligible bachelor at Hogwarts?"

Peter and Remus turned to Sirius awaiting a response. James was trying to discern how serious his best friend was about Lily. He wasn't entirely sure why it mattered to him, but it did. Pausing to consider this, Sirius finally settled on a decision.

"If someone like Lily would be willing to give her heart to you, how could you do anything but accept?" Sirius challenged. The other Marauders nodded to this.

"Well then! Shall we go find some butterbeers to toast Padfoot's luck at winning over the prettiest Prefect Hogwarts has ever produced?" Peter broadly smiled. Sirius threw an arm around James, and gave him a friendly squeeze.

"I'll see to it you're best man at the wedding of Sirius and Lily Black," Sirius confided.

James thought the idea of drinks sounded like a good idea but not for the reasons Peter suggested. James was feeling irked by all this and he wasn't too sure why. Figuring he was just worried a steady girlfriend who happened to also be a Prefect would cramp the Marauders deviant style, James was determined to get his best friend off this pursuit of Lily Evans, even if it took every last bit of his cunning.

The question was how to do it without hurting Sirius or letting him know what he was up to?

After perusing the Magical Menagerie for a good half hour, Lily abandoned the noisy shop and returned to Diagon Alley. At its intersection with Knockturn Alley (a shady area known for its darker merchandise), Lily saw another familiar face hovering in place.

"Afternoon Snape," Lily couldn't keep the curious note out of her tone. "What are you doing here?"

Severus Snape was as pale and gaunt as Lily remembered him at the end of last year. The only thing that seemed to change was his oily looking black hair seemed to have grown a bit. If possible, Snape seemed to go more rigid as Lily approached him.

"I imagine the same as you, Evans," Snape's detached voice responded. "Buying supplies for the new term."

"I meant _here_," Lily gestured toward the signs labeling the branch off of Knockturn Alley. "Gives off the wrong sort of impression and all."

"I'm expecting to meet with some members of my House," Snape answered, "this is nothing more than the place they specified. They should be here…momentarily."

Lily grew uncomfortable with the idea of being surrounded by a pack of Slytherins and she got the impression that's what Snape was hoping to achieve. Ever since the 1ST Year, the only times Lily could recall Snape was skulking about on his own or exchanging harsh banter with James Potter and his friends. He seemed alone, even amongst the members of his own House and Lily couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. She had no idea what pain or grudge it was Snape was nursing, but whatever it may be Lily had never met a person more jaded or berating that Severus Snape. Not willing to be driven off by his irreparable foul mood, Lily attempted pleasant conversation.

"I see you've already acquired your Potion supplies," Lily observed, nodding to a rather large bag in Snape's hand from the Apothecary. "By the looks of it you could outfit our entire class." The Gryffindors and Slytherins have shared Potions together since long before either Lily or Snape arrived at Hogwarts.

Snape said nothing to Lily. He only studied her, as though to determine if she were setting up for some joke at his expense. Lily guessed more than one person had feigned kindness in order to bring Snape's defenses down before tearing in.

"You're really good in Potions," Lily tried again. "Is it your favorite subject?"

"I'm partial to it," Snape admitted stiffly without offering too much. Snape turned the conversation around on Lily as he was rarely fond of any discussion that he was the subject of. "I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other outside Potions."

Lily titled her head quizzically at Snape. She wasn't following.

"What with us both being Prefects for our respective Houses?" Snape's eyebrow raised slightly. Lily blinked, apparently unaware of this.

"I-I hadn't heard you made Prefect." Lily confessed.

Snape smirked a little. "Oh, that's right. You probably wouldn't have living amongst the Muggles."

Lily wasn't too sure if he was merely observing her situation or making fun of it. It was always impossible to tell with Severus Snape as his tone was constantly condescending.

"Well congratulations, Snape," Lily smiled politely.

"As to you," Snape nodded slightly.

"You being hassled, Lily?" A voice inquired from behind Lily and Snape. James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all standing a few paces off from the pair and still approaching.

"No, thank you, Remus," Lily replied. The feud between the Gryffindors and Slytherins was no big secret and conclusions were typically jumped to whenever one was seen talking to the other.

"Mind if we join the conversation?" James asked in a rhetorical manner. A sarcastic grin crept over his face. "So how about that local Quidditch team of which we are all mutually supportive of?"

Snape was less than appreciative of James's presence. Few were sure where the rivalry began between the two, but most were certain that death would do little to distil the bad blood between Potter and Snape.

"Pity. I figured at least one of you would have landed yourselves in Azkaban by now," Snape commented sarcastically. There was a hint to his voice that he might have been actually disappointed by this revelation.

"That's damn hilarious coming from the guy looking for bargain buys at Knockturn Alley," Sirius countered.

"He was just making his way from the Apothecary, Sirius," Lily stated without knowing for certain. "No need to throw about accusations."

"Didn't know you've taken to being Snape's biographer, Lily," Peter joked. Lily and Snape shared a scowl in his direction, causing him to shrink away slightly. Snape shifted a quizzical glance at Lily, as though trying to determine why she was acting on his behalf.

"If you're sure you're all right, Lily…" Remus tried to diffuse the tension, serving his function as the most level headed of the four. "We'll be over at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor if you care to meet up with us."

"I may see you there," Lily replied in a non-committal fashion. Remus nodded and nudged the other Marauders. Reluctantly, they followed Moony away after bidding their farewells to Lily and Snape. Once the four were out of earshot, Snape turned to Lily defensively.

"What game were you playing at, Evans?" Snape demanded rather harshly. Lily was taken back a little by the unexpected hostility.

"Well they were jumping to conclusions and it really isn't any of their business," Lily replied sincerely. "But I meant it when I said it's not a wise idea to let many people catch you coming out of Knockturn Alley. Even if you are just, um, meeting friends, it gives people all sorts of impressions."

Snape studied Lily with his black eyes for a minute, as though to gage her sincerity.

"I would suggest you invest your energies into devising means to keep a short-reign on the Gryffindors in your charge rather than protecting me from the git, Potter, and his vapid cohorts," Snape cautioned stonily. "I need your charity like I need a hole in my cauldron. Good day, Evans."

As Snape skulked away into Diagon Alley, Lily was tempted to say something else but saw little point.

"Wouldn't want him to waste all his good insults before the term starts," Lily muttered to herself as she decided to meet up with her Gryffindor friends before she finished buying her school supplies.


	2. Sonnets & Sarcasm

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 2

Sonnets and Sarcasm

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

James Potter spent the remaining days of summer brooding over a means to keep his best friend from perusing Lily Evans. At times he felt guilty about this, wondering if he was sabotaging his friend's happiness all because…well James hadn't exactly worked out why he was so worked up but he was a smart boy and was certain the answer would come to him soon.

James pushed these unpleasant thoughts aside by telling himself that Sirius wasn't _in love_ with Lily or anything, he was just interested because she was seemingly oblivious of the dashing Sirius Black. James was convinced if his friend did manage to wrangle Lily to himself he'd lose interest soon enough and might unintentionally hurt Lily's feelings in the process.

"So really I'm protecting them both, I guess," James said to himself in the Potter family estate. He lived there alone now. He hadn't had any family outside the one he acquired through Hogwarts in years, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had seen to that. Potter was considered a noble surname amongst wizarding folk as many noble people could once claim lineage to it. As the darkness rose, it came as little surprise that the Potters saw fit to face the evil head on and it offered little comfort to know they retained their valor until the bitter end. James often wondered if this was some sort of omen even though he had always snubbed Divinations when at school.

_"Maybe I'm meant to share the same fate as the rest of my family,"_ James glumly thought. _"Suppose there are worse ways to die than bravely for the things you treasure."_

As far as James knew, the whole family line was threatening to end with him. James had long since become resolved that he would maintain the honor of his family and avenge what was taken from him if he could. He knew this meant he wouldn't be able to hunt Voldemort; he couldn't have both his family's honor and vengeance that way. James knew he would be forced to sacrifice one and that's not what he wanted to become of the Potter name. He would fight Voldemort just as he faced any threat in his life: with cunning and gallantry, something James was desperate to prove. But for the time being there was little he could do about Voldemort or his thinning bloodline.

Not until he graduated Hogwarts.

At age sixteen, James found reality to be positively crushing at times. All he could do now is learn everything he would need when he came of age and be the best friend he could to those willing to take him on, which seemed to be more people than he could have wildly imagined in his first days at Hogwarts. Popularity mattered in only fleeting portions to James. What he valued most were the precious few he could truly call friends.

Peter Pettigrew vindicated James, made him feel like he was important to someone and that people were right to willingly trust and depend on him. Peter was content to have a friend like James to look out for him and James was more than happy to be that kind of friend for Peter. Because of Peter's insecurities, James saw a potential in his friend that he doubted many would ever know: an ambition to prove himself and the ability to always do what was truly right in the end.

Remus Lupin was a kindred spirit to James. Cursed to become a werewolf during the full moon of each month, Remus showed James the extents of which he himself was capable of showing loyalty to a friend and how much he was willing to sacrifice for those important to him. James and both Peter and Sirius had jumped through endless hoops to help and protect their friend, from becoming illegal animages to keeping Remus company while he was a werewolf to inventing strings of plausible lies to justify his frequent absences. Because of his own personal woes and obligations, Remus was a comfort to James as they could relate to each other, as no one else seemed able to. It made James feel less alone and overwhelmed.

He was perhaps most grateful for happy-go-lucky Sirius and his ability to make James forget what had happened and how much lay before him. Sirius was James's living reminder that they were both still sixteen. That contribution on Sirius's part was often the only thing keeping James's sanity glued together. What would James do without Sirius there to joke around with and prank beside?

"You're such a prat Potter," James muttered to himself. "You're hung up on Lily because you're afraid she's going to steal your best friend from you."

James wondered if that was it. It sounded true, but he had his doubts still. He risked losing so much of himself with Sirius. Lily wasn't a bad person; in fact from what James knew of her, she would probably be the best thing that could ever happen to, well, anyone. And he wanted the best for all his friends, especially his closest one. But what if that created a rift between himself and Sirius that would never be repaired? James wanted nothing more than Sirius to resume his usual casual dating practices and not worry him about this anymore.

Feeling conflicted all over again James wondered if he was hindering Sirius's happiness so as not to threaten his own. James sighed and ruffled his dark hair more so than it usually was.

"Okay," James breathed, "here's what I'll do. If I think Sirius is just chasing Lily because he's after a snog that's a challenge, I'll spare no expense of my cunning to undermine him…for both their own good."

Leaning into his arms, James felt the pangs of depression imbed themselves into his very core at the though to the alternative.

"But if he's in love…truly in love…I'll spare no expense of my cunning to make sure Lily Evans comes to him on silver platter with a bow around her neck," James groaned into the folds of his arm. "Oh, please just be hard up for a snog, Sirius. We're all too young to be in love! Just hold off two more years to be really, truly happy so I can share that feeling with you."

James decided to go to bed. He would need to get some sleep if he was expected to be on the Hogwarts Express by 11 o'clock the next morning.

By the time he arrived at Platform 9 and ¾, James had devised a plan, which was (in his opinion) brilliant in keeping Sirius and Lily apart.

James would be himself and ensure that Sirius and the other Marauders did the same.

They would continue their pranking, their breaking of school rules and show Lily Evans the same courtesy they extended to every Prefect before her:

None whatsoever.

James was willing to bet all the gold in Gringott's that Lily would be so fed-up with them by winter holiday she'd be more inclined to strangle Sirius than she would snog him. Not that he was planning on doing anything horrible to Lily, just a joke here or there to keep her on her toes and an absolute undermining of her authority. James felt confident this would work.

No sooner did he board the Hogwarts Express and locate his friends was James faced with the opportunity to test out his current working plan. In a compartment on the train, Lily Evans was seated across from Sirius and Peter with Remus next to her. They appeared to be talking about classes.

" – I'm just saying, I don't get Muggle Studies is all, Sirius was finishing as James stepped. His friend's faces lit up as they saw him while Lily gave him a polite smile. "Hey, we were wondering when you'd saunter on in."

"What were you four talking about?" James deliberately sat himself between Remus and Lily, throwing an arm around each.

"Sirius seems to find Muggle Studies complicated," Lily explained. James knew for a fact Sirius found Muggle Studies to be _boring_ but was evidently trying to tone this down with Lily. James decided to take advantage of the situation.

"Well it is!" James agreed. "How Muggles get along without magic if beyond me."

"They improvise," Lily informed with a slightly haughty tone.

James knew Lily was Muggle-Born. Not that he really cared one way or another about parentage since some of the worst sorts of Wizards hailed from the best families and the other way around. Still, he was on a mission to annoy Lily and he had to take the openings as they presented themselves.

"Peter, remember that paper Sirius wrote last term?" James baited Wormtail, knowing he would be naïve enough to keep his conversation rolling. "You know, the one about Muggles and airplanes."

Peter started laughing at the memory of this while Sirius started to grow a bit awkward and Remus shifted his glance between the other four in the compartment.

"I think Lily knows all about airplanes, James," Remus commented while throwing a deliberate look to James. "She's Muggle-Born after all."

James did what he could to appear as though that fact had slipped his mind. Lily got the impression Remus was deliberately trying to derail the conversation. Lily eyed Peter.

"It wasn't really by best work," Sirius stated. Peter gave him a sharp nudge with his elbow as though he were just trying to be modest.

"Oh come on, it was hilarious!" Peter declared before turning to Lily. "We were in fits for weeks."

"Was it really that amusing?" Lily asked politely, though a foreboding pitch had crept into her voice. Peter nodded.

"Oh yeah!" Peter replied. "Sirius couldn't figure out how the Muggles managed to get hunks of steel shaped like big birds off the ground and he had three feet of parchment due on the subject and since he was getting top marks in the class, he decided to float the assignment and turned it into a satyr. His closing statement was 'If Muggles had been intended to fly, they would have been given brooms.' Brilliant!"

"It was just meant as a lark, Lily," Remus assured, Lily nodded though her expression looked as though she had just tasted a particularly sour flavor of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Sirius weakly smiled and shrugged. James patted himself on the back in silence. He figured this would get Lily's cauldron boiling and guessed right. Sirius hadn't meant anything by the paper, it was only to get a laugh out of people. If Lily didn't get that about his best friend, James didn't want either to be wasting their time on one another.

"Of course, I have to admit I thought James's paper was a little funnier," Peter confessed.

In James's opinion, the humor had suddenly left the situation. Remus shook his head and covered his face, knowing Peter would inevitably continue. Sirius started laughing wickedly as he looked at James.

"Oh, and what was James's about?" Lily asked curiously through clenched teeth. James shot a panicked look at Peter that he either didn't notice or didn't care about.

"It was a poem actually!" Sirius smirked. "I believe it was called 'The Huggable, Shnuggable, Muggle.' Maybe James can recite it."

"I really don't remember it," James lied; remembering it a little too well. He glanced to Remus helpfully. "Hadn't I been feverous and binge-drinking butterbeer when I wrote that?"

"You're the one who wanted to be nostalgic, James," Remus put things simply. James sighed as he heard Peter clear his throat and his plan begin to backfire.

_"'I like that Muggles think magic and monsters are fiction_

_Just because it's not on the telley in their kitchen_

_I like how Muggles invented Nuclear power_

_So they can blow us all up at any hour_

_I like how Muggle pictures don't move_

_Showing that there isn't an interesting thing they do.'"_

Peter broke up into fits of laughter before he could finish, Sirius joined him as well. Remus shook this head, unable to see what would happen next. Wincing, James turned to Lily and offered a shy smile. Her green eyes looked as though they were about to burn a hole through his head.

"It was supposed to be…er…comprehensive of everything we learned that term," James attempted to explain. "And I was looking to get a rise out of the teacher, is all, honest."

"So you made fun of Muggles simply because they're ignorant?" Lily rationalized harshly. "You're such a bigot, James!"

"Oh come on now, Lily," James pleaded. "It was really just a joke."

"Oh, it was more than that, James. It was an inspiration!" Lily said sarcastically. "Why, a poem has just come to me in the wake of its brilliance."

_"'James Potter is such a prat_

_Head as pointed as his hat_

_House Chaser for Gryffindor_

_Wouldn't know his arse from a hole in the floor!'"_

Remus, Sirius, and Peter where howling with laughter as James's face went scarlet. Lily stormed from the compartment and James was tempted to follow her and attempt to apologize some more but was afraid she'd come up with some more slanderous lyrics for the entire train to listen to. Instead, James turned his frustrations onto his cackling friends.

"You _had_ to recite it, didn't you?" James growled at Peter. Peter was too busy laughing to reply. Sirius wiped a tear from his eye.

"I'm glad he did!" Sirius patted Peter on the back. "I thought I was sunk with Lily when you brought up that paper but your poem _really_ was worse than mine!"

"Why did you bring that up, James?" Remus raised his eyebrow as James. "You couldn't have forgotten Lily wouldn't have found as much humor in Muggle Studies as we did."

"I - I was just trying to show how funny Sirius was," James justified, hopefully convincingly enough.

"Yeah well we sure found out how hilarious _she_ can be," Sirius laughed. "And here I was worried Lily'd be a wand in the mud."

Embarrassed and livid that Sirius seemed to be even more interested in Lily, James sighed and tried to figure out how he could get Lily to direct a fraction of her anger at him toward his best friend.

Still frustrated, Lily made her way to one of the front compartments of the train so she would be with the other Prefects. Randall O'Neil, the Prefect for the Hufflepuffs was speaking with the female one from Ravenclaw whom Lily would have to introduce herself to later. Severus Snape, the Slytherin Prefect, sat alone, thumbing through the Daily Prophet. Lily wasn't sure if he had been so interested in the news that he hadn't noticed her enter or if he simply chose to ignore her.

"Any particular reason you appear so cross today, Evans?" Snape answered Lily's question without looking up.

"James Potter," Lily confessed. "He's just being a wanker is all."

She typically tried to avoid the subject of James on the rare occasions she spoke with Snape. She was reluctant to give Snape an open invitation to character assassinate someone she frequently associated with, but she was still fuming and looking for someone to share a rant with. It took all her restraint not to bring up her new poem, "Ode to a Git."

"You say this as though it should suddenly be on the front page of the Daily Prophet," Snape quipped, evidently unimpressed with her revelation.

Feeling her etiquette return to her, Lily decided to change the subject. She peered over Snape's shoulder to glance at the paper in his hand.

"Speaking of which, what is front page these days?" Lily inquired.

Severus Snape stiffened a little at Lily's close proximity. The only thing he was more uncomfortable with than making casual small talk was someone being so close to his person. Uncomfortably, he thrust the paper toward Lily.

"Help yourself, I'm finished," Snape offered coolly. Lily accepted the paper with a weak smile. She was kind of hoping for a conversation, but decided not to press her luck. Glancing at the front page, Lily felt all her frustration with James pour out of her as she read about the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.

"Oh god…the horrible things people can do…" Lily muttered to herself as she sat across from Snape, transfixed on the horrible news. Snape eyed her curiously.

"Its wise not to invest so much emotion into things beyond your power," Snape advised almost helpfully. "It will only bring you worries you can never alleviate."

"You'd have everyone just be apathetic then?" Lily glanced at Snape. "Never offering a care to anything not directly about themselves?"

Severus Snape was tempted to agree with that since it was, in fact, how he chose to live his life, but in a rare moment of consideration recognized not was capable of functioning as he did.

"I'm merely suggesting that empathy is a double-edged sword, Evans," Snape replied. "The more you use it, the more you risk bringing unnecessary, if not irreparable, harm to yourself."

"You sincerely believe that, don't you?" Lily asked in a quiet, almost pitying voice. Snape stared at her as though she had said something to deliberately offend him.

"We all can't strut about in rose-colored glasses and let them fog up with tears every time we hear or see something troubling," Snape's evenly replied.

Lily sighed and leaned into her seat, staring at Snape. "You know, there is a difference between constructive criticism and being out right critical. We're going to need to work on your people skills, Severus if you and I our going to be in anyway productive as Prefects."

Snape seemed to flitch at the sound of her using his first name. After staring hard at her for a moment, Snape offered a stiff nod. "I suppose a certain civility will be required considering our positions."

"That's all I'm asking," Lily smiled politely.

The Great Hall was alive under a blanket of candles. The 1st Years had all been sorted into their new Houses. The Gryffindors table was filled with the excited conversations of those still catching up and those anticipating the new term. The Marauders all sat together at the Great Feast, Lily was a little down the line talking to Arabella Figg about their respective summers.

James was still pondering Lily. He didn't know exactly what was pissing him off about the whole scene but it had grated at him for hours. He debated if it was because she humiliated him in front of his own friends or if it was his perceived failure of getting Sirius and Lily to lose interest in one another. James was assuming the attraction were mutual between them.

How could Lily not be in love with the handsome Sirius Black?

Sirius was a little hard to compete with on the dating field but James was by no means jealous or bitter toward his friend for being blessed with features women found attractive. James himself knew that he was reasonably good looking since, to most girls in school, nabbing any of the Marauders (in particular James Potter or Sirius Black) as a steady boyfriend made for a good catch. James took only a passing interest in dating since most of the girls were nice around Hogwarts but not terribly interesting in his opinion.

He recognized this was more his fault than theirs since James kept a pretty fast paced life going on about him and had become a hard person to catch the attention of, let alone impress. The most James knew about women were they were a challenge to talk to and impossible to figure out. He wondered if this was something innate with him or a natural shortcoming that came with being an adolescent male. It just seemed whenever one in particular caught his eye she'd talk James's ear off about how funny or handsome or incredible Sirius was. Still, James never begrudged Sirius.

It wasn't Sirius's fault he was so popular.

"You look depressed, Prongs," Sirius observed after swallowing a mouthful of food. "Maybe Lily can come up with a poem to cheer you up, hmm?

It _was_ Sirius's fault, however, that he was a complete jackass.

Lily rose from her seat next to Arabella and made her way toward the front of the Great Hall. As she passed by the Marauders, James caught the sleeve of her robes. Lily glances at him with a sigh as he stood up. He had to bend his neck slightly to meet her eyes since he was reasonably taller that the five foot something redhead.

"Remembered another amusing antidote you're dying to share?" Lily asked warily. James shook his head.

"I just wanted to apologize about that properly," James insisted as he awkwardly ran a hand through his mess of hair. "I swear Lily, it was only meant in jest…poor taste be it as it may. I'm a prat, sorry."

Lily nodded.

"All right James." Lily relented. Sirius moved down a section of bench, nearly knocking a 5th year to the ground.

"Why don't you sit with us for a bit, Lily?" Sirius offered, but Lily shook her head.

"I'll have to decline," Lily replied, gesturing to her Prefect badge. "I'm expected to show the 1st Years about."

"Ah," Sirius nodded. "Well, give 'em Hell. Put the fear of God into them and all that. Show any weakness and they'll spend every free hour coming up with new ways to walk all over you."

"They're _eleven_, Sirius!" Lily protested.

"So were we once," Sirius shrugged as he gestured to himself and the other Marauders. "Look how we turned out with soft Prefect."

"Utter delinquents," James added.

"Fashioned for an irredeemable life of wrong-doing," finished Peter.

"I'll be sure to make you a stop on the tour," Lily dryly retorted. "Maybe the children will benefit of from a nice cautionary tale."

Lily strode off without another word. Remus flicked a bit of food onto Sirius's robes.

"You are officially the sinking stone I've attached myself to," Remus huffed.

"Bah, just having a bit of sport with the old girl," Sirius waved Remus off.

"Shaping up to be a marry chase isn't it?" Peter quipped causing Sirius playfully shoved him.

"I take it from Moony because once a month he's something to reckon with," Sirius smiled at Peter. "_Your _ other half isn't so much formidable as it is adorable." Sirius poked a little fun at Peter's animage transformation into a rat, Peter and Remus laughed along.

James smiled. If Sirius kept handling his pursuit of Lily like this James was sure the most contribution he'd have to make to keeping the two apart would be sitting back and watching the carnage unfold from the side-lines.

"First Years this way!" Lily called out to the Gryffindors.

Lily gathered all the 1st Years around her and began leading them to Gryffindor tower, giving them all the introductory knowledge they would need at the beginning of their term at Hogwarts. The Marauders hung toward the back of the Gryffindor pack since Lily was announcing nothing new for those who've been Gryffindors for years. They took the opportunity to joke around a bit and throw their last scowls at the Slytherins until the next morning in potions.

'Must say," Sirius muttered to his fellow Marauders as he watched Lily speak and gesture off ahead. "Love watching that girl on the job."

"Yes, I'm quite sure it's Lily's work ethic you're admiring," Remus nudged Sirius with a smile. "I reckon you're just looking for a woman to boss you around a bit."

Sirius laughed.

"So when shall we open up our usual batch of misfit?" Peter asked.

"Tonight?" Sirius glanced at James. James thought about this for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. Um, tomorrow I think," James replied.

"Fine by me," Sirius shrugged as they heard Lily utter the password into Gryffindor tower and waited for there turn to file in. "I hope Lily appreciates the last night of decent sleep she's ever going to get as a Prefect."

In the back of James mind, he wondered how long it would take for the other three Marauders to nod off to sleep and what fun he could have with Lily Evans under the cover of his heirloom invisibility cloak.


	3. Spark in the Dark

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 3

Spark in the Dark

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

In the 6th Year Gryffindor boys' dormitory, James Potter's eyes kept drifting over to his trunk where he kept his invisibility cloak hidden. He and Remus Lupin watched Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew play a _brilliant_ game one of the two had invented which revolved mostly around them flicking sparks at one another from their wands to see who flinched first.

James guessed Sirius was winning because he still had both his eyebrows.

As it approached 11 o'clock and no one appeared to be going to bed anytime soon, James knew he would have to get out of the room quickly if he was going to do anything to Lily Evans before the morning. Casually he walked over to his trunk and pulled out his cloak.

"Thought we were staying in tonight?" Remus observed. James nodded.

"We are, I'm just a bit peckish," James lied. "I'm going to sneak into the kitchen and see if I can't pinch some sweets. Want anything?"

The three other Marauders put in their requests as James adjusted his cloak so he was completely invisible.

"How do I look?" James asked sarcastically.

"It's an improvement I think," Peter said. That distraction cost him as he was frantically patting his chin a moment later from where some stubble had caught fire.

"Damn you, Sirius!" Peter growled. "Took me all bloody summer to grow that out!"

"I've seen food on the floor with more hair on it than whatever was growing off your face!" Sirius laughed, as he glanced over to Remus and where he had last seen James. "Don't you agree, mates?"

"Say 'Thank you, Sirius for saving me from myself,' Peter," Remus smiled.

"I've elected to simply nod," James's voice drifted from nowhere. Peter just waved irritably at all of them (though had to guess on James). "You all can bugger off. Sirius and James have no room to talk. I've seen Slytherin girls with more 5 o'clock shadow than you two gits! And the only time Remus is better off than the rest of us he resembles a walking shag carpet!"

The four shared a laugh as they watched the door phantom its way open.

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," James announced in a hushed voice. "If you're planning on setting one another aflame wait until I return."

"You know a handy extinguishing charm?" Remus inquired.

"Nah, just want to make sure I get a picture is all," James replied as he shut the door behind him. "And knock it off! It reeks of burnt hair in here and I'm not about to listen to either of you moan and groan about wearing an eye patch for the rest of time."

"You reckon James was suggesting Spark in the Dark is a dangerous game?" Peter asked as he picked up his wand again.

"Now that doesn't really sound like our James," Remus commented from his bed.

"I think I'll be getting my safety tips from someone other than the creator of Hammer Darts," Sirius interjected as he pointed his wand at Peter. "Alright, we'll play ten more rounds or until someone has a bald spot."

"My forehead's cold," Peter grumbled as he rubbed it.

Lily Evans had just shoed the last off the Gryffindors out of the common room by a quarter after eleven. Professor McGonagall trusted for her to make sure no student was up and about any later than midnight on school nights and she wasn't about to disappoint her. Of course, that would mean figuring out just how James Potter and his friends snuck out.

Lily settled into a chair facing the dying embers of the common room fireplace and stared into the eerie glow. Lily guessed that there must be a hidden passage somewhere in the common room or boys' dormitory for them to evade notice. She pondered this for a while but eventually gave up on trying to discern where it might be located since they were the only four who evidently knew about it. James and Sirius were lost causes as neither would divulge any little secret of there's easily. Lily decided to try getting the information out of Peter Pettigrew, he seemed like the type to supply information whether he realized he was or not. Or there was always Remus Lupin who struck her as the most decent of the four at times.

A creaking floorboard caught Lily's attention. She threw a look over her shoulder, preparing to tell whomever it was to get back in his or her bed but saw no one. Peering around the darkened room, Lily doubted anyone was hiding but decided to investigate it anyway. After she was certain no one was in the common room with her, Lily figured it was time to bed to be herself.

Between the boys' and girls' dormitories was the Prefect's bedroom as they were expected to be the authority figure of the house. Lily wondered if she would welcome the solitude or would miss having the other 6th Year Gryffindor girls to socialize with at night. She found Arabella Figg knocking on her bedroom door. Arabella glanced at Lily then the door with something of a confused expression.

"Lily, I thought you were in bed," Arabella said in a bewildered voice. Lily studied her curiously.

"Why did you think that?" Lily asked.

"Well I though I heard you door open and I wanted to ask you something before tomorrow," Arabella explained.

Lily's eyes shifted toward her bedroom. Would James and the others be so bold as to break into her room just to mess with her? She gestured for Arabella to move to the side as she opened it. Eye's darting around the cozy accommodations, Lily saw no one in there and nothing out of the ordinary. Satisfied, Lily closed the door and turned back to Arabella in the hall.

"Guess being a Prefect has made me paranoid," Lily shrugged.

James breathed a sigh of relief as Lily shut the door. She had looked so comfortable in front of the fire in the common room that he had thought she wouldn't have been up for a bit. And Arabella Figg just had to spend the past few minutes knocking and calling for Lily so there was no way he could have snuck out if he had wanted. James could only assume she was going to burden Lily with something that pertained to her unhealthy fixation with cats.

James wasn't sure exactly what he was doing in Lily Evans' bedroom but this is just where he sort of ended up. He assumed he intended to prank her in someway but nothing had to him. Instead, he just found himself standing amongst her belongings and feeling somehow a little closer to Lily Evans by doing so. The voices of the two girls in the hall drifted through the door. James strained to listen.

"What did you want to ask me, Arabella?" Lily inquired.

"Well, you see, me and Cassidy, Millicent, and Gwen have been gabbing and catching up," Arabella prattled, "and we were all talking about whom was with whom and you're still a Gryffindor 6th year so I came to get your update for the rest of the girls."

"Oh!" Lily mocked amusement at this. "Honored you still consider me."

"Well you're just our Prefect now…it's not as though you're the enemy."

"Well, James and his friends don't seem to be of the same opinion."

James leaned closer at the mention of his name.

"So?"

"Unattached, Arabella."

"Hmm. Really?"

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Well, I know when you weren't ridding with the other Prefects on the Hogwarts Express you were with the Gryffindor foursome. Then I saw you talking with James and the others at the end of dinner and he was acting so awkward I thought he was asking you out or something."

James wondered if he really came off as such a git or if Arabella was just grasping at broom straws.

"He was only apologizing for something he said back on the train. _Nothing_ is going on with James and I."

"Pity. Always figured he fancied you."

James groaned. Just how big of a git _was he_ in the public eye?

"I very much doubt that. He always seems a little to busy talking just to listen to himself to ever notice what anyone else is doing."

"Oh come on, James isn't that bad, Lily."

"Oh really? Always goofing about and snubbing anyone with a bit of authority. He's cocky and sarcastic and thinks everyone should be charmed by his smile enough to bend over backwards for him. I'm telling you, James Potter speaks only to hear his own voice."

James lost interest in Lily's slander as he felt himself glowering under his cloak.

_"Pity we can't all be as perfect as Lily Evans,"_ James thought sarcastically. His eyes fell on Lily's cloak and the prefect badge attached to it, provoking an idea.

"I didn't know you felt that strongly about James," Arabella gaped.

"I don't," Lily sighed, "he's just been a bugger lately and I'm venting a bit."

"Oh, well James can do that to a girl," Arabella admitted, "but he manages to be devilishly cute when he's at it, doesn't he?"

"He certainly does," Lily grinned shyly.

"I thought you might fancy him a little," Arabella winked at Lily before she headed back to the girls' dormitory.

"That's speculation and hearsay, Arabella. So don't go repeating it!" Lily called after her in a hushed voice.

"What with you being such a notoriously light sleeper, Lily, I'm sure your hawk like ears would catch me if I even began to utter it," Arabella rolled her eyes. Lily smirked as she opened her bedroom door.

_"Bloody hell,"_ was all James's mind could come up with when Lily entered the room and shut the door behind her. He took a few steps back into an empty corner, not wanting to risk being underfoot. James had not idea whatever it was she and Lily had been prattling on about as he was terrible at eavesdropping when he was fuming but he _had_ caught that last bit of dialogue. James's brain worked feverishly to try and discern whether Arabella had been sarcastic when she said Lily was a light sleeper or it that was the truth.

Lily hummed to herself a little as she grabbed a brush off her vanity and began running it through her long red hair. She opened one of her textbooks for the term and began paging through it listlessly. James refused to take his eyes of her out of fear she'd accidentally bump into him if he didn't keep a look out. He tried to silently will her to open her door for any reason long enough for him to make his escape but as she stood over her dresser skimming her book for several minutes, James began to doubt that he'd get such a lucky break.

After what seemed to be ten minutes or so, Lily closed her book and opened one of the drawers of her dresser. She pulled a set of pajamas set in the Gryffindor colors and threw them to her bed. Resuming her humming, Lily pulled the sweater of her school uniform over her head and tossed it into a laundry bin. James had to suppress a gasp as he felt his eyes peel wide open.

Lily Evans was undressing in front of him…

…Sort of.

As she tugged off her necktie and began fumbling with the buttons of her dress shirt, James willed himself to shut his eyes and face into the corner. The Gryffindor part of James rallied to his side to offer him strength.

_"I will not look!" _James committed himself to his chivalry with his fists clenched at his side_. "It's improper and completely disrespectful of Lily."_

Then the 16 year old boy half of James got his say.

_"Oh Come on!"_

That's when James decided a peek couldn't hurt anyone really. Glancing quickly over his shoulder, he was Lily was pulling her hair out of the back of her pajamas and pulling her covers down to settle into bed.

James was torn between breathing a sigh of relief or muttering a curse of disappointment.

Just as Lily was about to climb into her bed, she glanced suspiciously around her room, peering into every dark corner as though she expected to find something. James held his breath; worried that Lily was just struck by the rightful impression that she was being watched. After a long moment of shifting her eyes fruitlessly about, Lily seemed to relax as she switched off a light and climbed into bed. James listened to Lily sigh in the darkness.

Figuring he'd give her half an hour or so to doze off, James stood rigid in the corner with his eyes locked on the covered Lily Evans.

During the first hour of his stay, James realized he was probably spending the night with Lily. After three failed attempts to leave, he was sick of having the hell scared out of him every time he made a move for the door.

The first time, as James passed her bed, Lily turned over and he all but sprinted back to his corner, worried she'd accidentally reach out and grab him. The second time she muttered something loudly in her sleep, which almost sounded like his name. It took him five minutes to regroup emotionally and realizes that she hadn't even woken up, let alone noticed him. The third time she sneezed and he nearly let out a scream.

Edgy and paranoid, James simply sat in the corner stiffly, careful to make sure his breathing didn't grow too loud or that he didn't nod off. His thoughts kept drifting back to his comfortable bed, which was waiting for him on the other side of the tower and how he could be in there sleeping at this very moment.

Instead, he was in Lily Evans' room perfecting the lost art of voyeurism.

James had nothing better to do than watch Lily until the morning came, so that's exactly what he did. That and think. He went back to plotting against her and Sirius, figuring maybe her presence would provide a certain inspiration.

For the second hour of his stay, James tried to come up with plausible ways to make Lily seem unappealing to Sirius but wasn't having any luck since she _was_ a pretty wonderful person. James figured he'd have a better chance of making her dislike Sirius but he didn't want that either.

During the third hour, James was pretty much exclusively thinking about Lily.

Around the fourth hour, James realized he was only thinking about Lily and tried to think about only Quidditch. This worked for about fifteen minutes until James thought about how Lily had hair as red as his robes then went right back to thinking about Lily.

At the fifth hour, James tried to figure out why he was thinking about Lily so much and ran through every possible rationalization. He figured he was obsessing over her because of his plotting and was looking for some discernable weakness to use to his advantage or it was just an after affect of being preoccupied with her so much these days.

James had a breakthrough just before dawn when he realized he had spent the last ten minutes trying to come up with a way to kiss Lily Evans while she slept without her knowing.

By the sixth hour, James had to pretty much admit to himself that he had a crush on Lily Evans…or possibly more. He spent the remainder of the hour grappling with self-loathing. James felt guilty for being interested in a girl his best friend wanted and hoped he had caught on early enough to do something about it.

The seventh hour was one of which James devoted to thinking of any way to get over his attraction to Lily. He considered preoccupying himself with an elaborate prank or wooing _any other girl but Lily_ but wasn't really achieving the enthusiasm or results he was hoping for.

At the eight hour, James wished Lily would just wake up so he could sneak out and hang himself in his closet, as it seemed like the only way this whole sorted mess could end pleasantly for all parties involved.

It was seven in the morning and Lily started to stir awake. She gave a lazy stretch and a small moan before rising out of bed. James was thoroughly impressed by her ability to look so captivating (though slightly disheveled) even when she was first getting up. Stretching, Lily grabbed a fresh school uniform and left the room probably to use the girls' dormitory bathroom.

It took James a moment to stretch out the crick in his shoulders and his neck before he slipped out of Lily's room and back to his own.

"Just tell us where you were all night, James!" Sirius badgered his friend on their way to Charms.

James hadn't been able to look his best friend in the eye since he had gotten back to the room. He felt all around guilty for being in Lily's room last night and the epiphany he had during the night wasn't helping.

"You don't hear me demanding to know where you were, do you?" James croaked back. He looked like hell and felt worse; comebacks were not high on his priority list.

"I'll take that as 'I'm sorry, Sirius, but I reckon I'm much too tired to produce convincing lies or a decent retort,'" Sirius laughed.

"I bet he was shaking up with some girl all night," Peter smirked.

Sirius's face lit up with amusement and interest.

"James Potter!" Sirius crowed as he slapped James on the back, nearly knocking his spectacle to the floor. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"There's no girl," James lied. He wasn't about to tell them he had spent the entire night settled in a corner of Lily's room like some common stalker. If they didn't make fun of him relentlessly they'd probably pummel him on principle, which would probably be far more merciful than the former.

"Trying to hide her from us, eh?" Remus commented, turning to Sirius and Peter. "Must really fancy this one."

Sirius spotted Lily coming up the hall in the company of Arabella and the rest of the Gryffindor girls from their year and quickly beckoned her to come over. James felt himself blush slightly as he tried to look innocent in front of Lily even though she couldn't possibly suspect anything of him. She approached the group, eying them suspiciously.

"Yes?" She asked curiously.

"You haven't heard any girls mentioning a late night tryst with our Mr. Potter have you?" Sirius inquired. James groaned and hid his face.

Lily shot James an accusing look.

"You were out of your room last night?" Lily spoke to James. James sighed, hoping he wasn't blushing too deeply as he was unable to reply.

"So you don't know who he was with?" Peter pressed. Lily's eyes burned into James as though she were attempting to remember something she had long since forgotten.

"Can't say for certain, no," Lily replied finally, before shooting James one last look and heading up ahead to Charms. Remus chuckled and the three other Marauders glanced at him with questioning looks. Remus cleared his throat.

"Lily's Prefect badge," Remus explained as he restored a serious demeanor, "the letters were enchanted."

"What did they say?" Peter asked, smile already breaking across his face.

"'Little Miss Perfect,'" Remus smiled. Sirius and Peter shared a laugh while James said nothing. Somewhere during his eight hour stay in Lily's room, he had forgotten he had enchanted her badge.

"Your handiwork, James?" Sirius inquired. James sighed before nodded.

"Yeah and now she's going to know it was me because you three told her I was out of bed," James glowered.

"So?" Peter shrugged. "Since when do you care if a Prefects on to you? You never get caught because no one but us knows about your invi-"

Sirius elbowed Peter in the stomach to stop him from finishing his sentence. "And why does no one know about it?"

"Because we don't talk about it," Peter recited rubbing his abdomen.

"I swear Peter, remind me _never_ to trust you with a secret," Sirius sighed as the four went into Charms.

Although Lily was well rested, she felt completely restless. She had dreamt about James all night, the details escaping her but she had woke up feeling content. She blamed Arabella entirely since James had been the last thing they discussed so, naturally, he was the last thing on her mind. She had even paged through her Advanced Transfigurations text before bed because it was James's favorite subject and it made her feel a little closer to him while doing it.

For some reason, Lily got the impression that people were pointing and snickering at her for evidently no reason. Recalling that odd sensation she had before getting into bed, Lily was resolved to work on the paranoia that had evidently manifested with her taking on the position of Prefect. After all, she would sound crazy if she started talking about how she though people were watching her in her bedroom.

Lily found herself stealing glances at James Potter in spite of herself all morning and she was certain she had caught him looking at her more than once as well.

_"Probably just wants to know why I keep staring at him,"_ Lily guessed to herself on her way to lunch. Lily was suddenly struck by the irony of this question. _ "Why do I keep staring at him?_

Lily didn't have an answer and that bothered her. What troubled her more was when she started to wonder if James had, in fact, met with some girl last night. She assumed her interest was only because she was James's Prefect and was responsible for keeping track of him, but her lack of certainty made her uncomfortable with this topic.

Although she was invited once again by Sirius to sit with him and his friends at lunch, Lily elected not to since she couldn't trust herself not to keep looking at James so she sat with Arabella and the other 6th Year girls instead.

"Now why wouldn't Lily sit with us?" Sirius asked disappointedly once she was out of earshot.

"She's probably still mad at me for sneaking out," James offered. "She's been staring at me all day."

"Makes it kind of hard to put the moves on Lily so long as you're in ten feet of James, eh?" Peter commented as he forked some fried chicken onto his plate and passed the serving tray to Remus.

"Yeah, pity I'm not trying to drive her off," Sirius agreed before nudging James playfully. "Some help you're turning out to be!"

James knew Sirius was being sarcastic but the guilt that had been eating at him all day took the comment straight to heart. James realized that he couldn't, in good conscious, betray his friend. However, he couldn't, in good conscious, help him either.

"Um, about that, Sirius," James began stiffly. "You see…I don't know if I'm really the person to help you with all this. I think Lily's too clever for any ruse or stunt we could brew up. That and I'm not much of a go between if she's adamant about disliking me."

Sirius studied James for a moment before breaking into a smile.

"Oh please, James," Sirius rolled his eyes. "When have you ever backed down from a challenge, especially one to help out a friend? I mean, considering what lengths you were willing to go for Remus here, I'd think getting into Lily Evans good graces would be a simple task."

"It'd be getting into her pants that'd be the trick," Peter observed. James chocked on his food and Remus and Sirius shot Peter pointed looks. Peter smiled apologetically. "Alright, I apologize. Horribly poor taste."

"As crass as the little rodent may be, Peter does have a point," Remus admitted. "Sirius is the one with the hard part since he's got to win Lily over in the end."

"You make it sound like just handing Lily over to Sirius would be an easy thing to do," James muttered before realizing what he said. He hoped it was vague sounding enough for the others to interpret as something more innocent than he had meant.

"Well, no," Remus agreed. "But I'm sure you'll come up with some brilliant scheme James. You always do."

James was about to sigh in relief before he realized he was right back where he had started. He only hoped Remus was right and something brilliant would come to him.


	4. Keeping Friends Close

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 4

Keeping Friends Close…

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

Potions was the last class of the day and the Gryffindors shared the lesson with Slytherin House. The Potions Master, Professor Brewsteem, was more than accustom by now to the "accidents" that occurred during her labs that always resulted in some sort of bizarre casualty or another from an opposing House.

"I'll trust you all to sort yourselves into pairings and begin preparing your Gnome Repellent," Brewsteem announced, "I'll be at my station, not making eye contact with any of you unless you have a question or immediate injury to treat."

She had tried to correct the behavior back in their 1st year but the small fortune she spent on throat tonic just didn't seem to be worth it anymore. The best Brewsteem could do was create lesson plans that didn't include potions they could use against one another (although her creative students always managed to find a way) and hope they didn't blow up too many innocent bystanders in the process. Last term she had them spend the final month creating headache tonics, burn ointments, and anti-depression potions so she'd have a stocked supply.

Brewsteem could only hope whomever succeeded her as Potions Master would have a better reign on their class.

Before Lily could ask her to be her partner, Sirius swooped Arabella up and led her off to the opposite end of the dungeon classroom, leaving Lily to pair with James. Arabella gave a small wink and a wave to Lily as she strode off with Sirius.

Sirius had worked this out with James before Potions, saying this would be a chance to smooth things over with Lily and hopefully get on her good side. Rivaling Severus Snape from Slytherin, James was the best student in the class and stood a good chance at impressing Lily this way. James only argued until he became worried that Sirius would then ask him to take Arabelle so he could get cozier with Lily. James figured he wouldn't be helping or hurting Sirius either way if he just tired to set things right by Lily.

Of course, whenever her green eyes meet with his hazel ones, James would become uncharacteristically awkward around Lily and kept running his wand hand through his mess of hair.

"Um, would you like to handle the cauldron or the ingredients?" James politely asked.

"I suppose the cauldron," Lily shrugged as she started to brew the base ingredients as instructed in their text. James began mincing various roots and insects while Lily kept her eye on the cauldron. She had been wanting to ask James something all day and figured this was as good as time as any to bring it up.

"So, where were you last night?" Lily tried to sound casual about the question. "I'm just curious, being a Prefect and all."

"Looking for a confession?" James asked with a smirk. Sarcasm was his defense mechanism and enabled him bluff confidence even when he most certainly was anything but.

Lily realized how stupid the question was and there was no way James was going to openly admit to breaking school rules to her, but she was oddly compelled to know where he had been.

"Um, well, no," Lily replied, "I was only making conversation. Just wanted to see if I knew the girl is all."

"Who said there _was_ a girl?"

"Well, Sirius mentioned in front of Charms…"

"Exactly."

"So…" Lily spoke cautiously so as not to allow any emotion to betray her voice. "So you weren't with a girl last night?"

"I'm not going to tell you _anything_ about where I was last night, Prefect Evans," James dodged the question with a coy grin. "But I _will_ say that I'm flattered everyone seems to think I have such a swinging social life."

James hoped that would be enough to get her to stop asking questions but believe he hadn't been snogging some girl. Lily nodded.

"Fair enough, Mr. Potter," Lily feigned formality, "I suppose I can't take points off you because I didn't technically catch you, but don't expect to get off so light next time around." Lily could have sighed, given the impression James hadn't had nearly as interesting a night as his friends would like to suggest.

James laughed. "Fine by me. Would sort of take all the fun out of sneaking about if there wasn't a hint of danger."

From across the room, Arabella and Sirius kept stealing glances at James and Lily as they worked on their own batch of potion. After a while, Arabella finally commented on the scene to Sirius.

"Seem to be getting along don't they?"

"Guess she wasn't as annoyed with him as I assumed," Sirius nodded.

"Nah," Arabella shook her head as she poured in some stinkbugs. "She told me so last night and I've spied her glancing at him all day."

"We thought she was glaring."

"Then you must have never seen a Lily Evans' glare!" Arabella laughed. "So looking to set up the two of them as well, eh?"

"Pardon?" Sirius turned to Arabella genuinely bewildered. Arabella returned the confused look.

"I thought you were working with me to give those two a moment alone?" Arabella replied.

"Um, no," Sirius said slightly awkward. He didn't want to tip his hand to Arabella considering he couldn't be sure she wouldn't run off and tell anything he confided in her to Lily. "I was merely thinking they were on bad terms. Bad for business if we have a Prefect breathing down our necks."

"Oh," Arabella shrugged, "I had just assumed you'd seen what I saw, considering how chummy you are with James."

"Which is?" Sirius pressed. Arabella leaned close to Sirius so as not to be overheard.

"I think they fancy one another," Arabella reported.

Sirius glanced over to Lily and James who were laughing about something and wondered if there was any truth to Arabella's speculations.

Lily made it to the Prefect meeting just as that Year's Headboy and Headgirl arrived. She and the other Prefects met with the Heads of the school bi-weekly to discuss things going on in the school, alert each other of potential disciplinary problems, and help to plan and organize any social functions. Since this was the first day of school and their first meeting of the term, they split off into pairs to brainstorm ideas for the year that they would share at the next meeting. Lily partnered with Severus Snape, the Slytherin Prefect as she doubted anyone else would want to or be very productive with him.

As they were discussing the idea of organizing more visits to Hogsmeade that year, Snape's eyes glanced to Lily's robes before he returned them to her face.

"It appears you've fallen victim to a prank, Evans," Snape observed coolly. Lily furrowed her brow and investigated her robes. "Look on your badge."

Lily saw LITTLE MISS PERFECT scribed over her badge and felt herself blush. Snape pulled out his wand and extended his hand towards her.

"Allow me," Snape offered. Lily handed the badge to Snape as he expelled the enchantment and returned it to its normal print of PREFECT. Lily scowled as Snape handed the badge back to her and she readjusted it to her robes.

"So _that's_ what everyone's been giggling about. I bet it was James."

"It's juvenal quality seems to be about his speed."

"Arabella Figg thought she heard someone going into my room last night," Lily fumed. "Lord knows he had time enough to manage it what with being out of his bed all night."

"Who would have thought James Potter was capable of breaking and entering?" Snape sarcastically smiled.

"Well when I get a hold of him, I'm stringing him up in the Whomping Willow and letting it have at him!" Lily insisted. "That prat's the one responsible for me walking around like some daft, paranoid woman!"

"How so?" Snape inquired.

"Well, I thought I heard people creeping about in the common room last night after lights out, then I could have sworn someone was in my room once I went to bed," Lily explained exasperatedly. "Didn't help things much, what with half the school snickering at me."

"Oh I think your suspicions are perfectly well founded," Snape stated with a self-assured grin.

"What do you mean?" Lily had a suspicion of where he was going but didn't want to lightly throw out anything in front of Snape.

"Come now, Evans," Snape smirked, "this should be child's play for a prospect for Head Girl. Potter unaccounted for all night coupled with an uncanny impression that you were being spied upon?"

Lily's eyes went wide at the implication.

"James wouldn't – " Lily started but Snape interrupted.

"Wouldn't what?" Snape challenged. "If he was willing to break into your room and vandalize your property, Evans, I don't think we should be quick to fashion any halos for James Potter. For all you know, his secret passage or whatever he uses might have a view of your bedroom and the Gryffindor Prefect inside."

Lily felt her face growing hot, partially from embarrassment and partially from anger. Possessed by her emotions, she quickly gathered her things.

"I'm sorry, would you excuse me," Lily spoke through clenched teeth.

"Not at all," Snape politely rose as she left the table with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

It was the start of dinner in the Great Hall and the Marauders decided to grab an early supper to get their studies out of the way. James was in high spirits now that is seemed him and Lily were back on good terms and ate heartily as a sign of this. After he caught Sirius glance at him for the umpteenth time as though he intended to ask him something, James decided to call him on.

"What's on you're mind, Padfoot?" James inquired.

"Oh, well nothing really," Sirius lied, but then thought better of it. "Well, I was talking with Arabella while we were in Potions, naturally, and she mentioned something that's been caught in my brain."

"Yeah?" James devoted his full attention to his best friend.

"She reckoned you and Lily fancied one another," Sirius said quickly, studying James reaction. James hoped whatever expression he had on his face prior to Sirius's bombshell was ambivalent because it was taking every effort of will to keep it locked on his face.

"So?" James asked as casually as he could.

"So is it true?" Sirius's eyes bore into James's.

James's mind was reeling. His first thought was the same as Sirius's: did Lily _really_ like him? But then the more pressing question became what to tell Sirius on the subject. James was more than tempted to fess up to his friend and try to come to some sort of mutual understanding about the situation but wondered if he should burden Sirius with his crush on Lily since, if she didn't return his affections, it would be nothing more than a moot point and unnecessary awkwardness between the two of them.

James had only just begun to open his mouth when he saw Sirius's eyes drift up in surprise as he felt a pitcher of chilled pumpkin juice poured over his head, drenching him rather thoroughly. Leaping from the bench in a fury, James spun around and grabbed the robes of what he expected to be a Slytherin with a death wish, but found himself grasping Lily Evans instead as she held an empty pitcher.

James gapped at her in shock but Lily helped to knock that expression off his face with a quick slap to the jaw. Every eye in the Great Hall was on them at this point with snickers and whispering all about them. Lily shoved away the hand James still had on her robes and stormed back to the corridor leading into the Great Hall. The Marauders all stared wide-eyed at James, Peter was the first to speak.

"You reckon she finally looked at her badge?"

James groaned as he charged after Lily. He caught her just before she reached the stairs and he had never seen her look more outraged.

"Don't you think that's a _bit_ much for a silly prank?" James reasoned; trying his damnedest not to scream at her for the spectacle she had just put him though.

"'Prank'? That's what you call it?" Lily growled.

"Well I didn't know changing the spelling on your badge was an offense worthy of Azkaban!" James declared.

Lily started chuckling out a cruel laugh as she shook her head at James. "You really are a prat! You think I give a knut that you enchanted my badge after I find out you were spying on me last night?"

This completely blindside James and he could only manage one reaction to surface to his face:

An honest one.

Lily nodded at his guilty expression as his eyes shifted away from her.

"Well I hoped you liked the show."

"Lily, I didn't see anything, I swear!" James saw no point in even trying to lie. Lily's face was completely twisted with rage. She had little doubt that James _had_ been watching her after Snape pointed it out, but hearing him actually admit to it made it all the more infuriating.

"Whatever," Lily said dismissively. "You're every bit the wanker you set yourself up to be, but as far as I'm concerned you've just run out of rope to hang yourself with."

"Lily, _please_ listen to me…" James pleaded but Lily cut him off.

"Oh? So you can make it all better by telling me how it's no big deal because it's not like you were catching a glimpse of anything new? Or, wait, maybe you'll throw a compliment my way by telling me I looked good enough to shag!" Lily attacked. She really had no idea how many women James had seen naked or how much of her he even saw, but she felt like being nasty rather than fair.

As students passing by gapped at the heated scene, James felt his self-restraint slipping. He did feel guilty, but the feelings of humiliation and rejection were overwhelming and now she was just making up things to validate her anger! Frustrated, James verbally lashed out at Lily.

"Don't worry, Lily, I know well enough how you view me," James spat back. "I assure you I won't be 'smiling my way out of this one' or go on and on just so I can 'listen to myself talk'." James threw Lily's exchange with Arabella back at her.

Lily felt her jaw drop. She hadn't even stopped to wonder if James had overheard anything from the night before. If he knew all that, then he had to know when the admitted that she thought he was cute. Growing more embarrassed by the second, Lily lost all semblance of civility.

"Why don't you just jump up your own arse and join your thoroughly embedded head?" Lily sneered.

"I'd suggest the same to you, but I very much doubt you'd get past the stick already lodged there," James dawned a nasty smirk.

Lily's eyes went redder than her hair as she stomped on James foot and stormed up the stairs, abandoning James to his swearing and howling.

"Bloody Hell! I have half a mind to report you for assaulting your charges!" James called up after her. Lily glared down.

"Ten Points from Gryffindor for being a degenerate with a foul tongue!" Lily announces as she disappeared.

With his heart throbbing harder than his foot, James emitted a furious chuckle as he returned to the Great Hall muttering to himself coarse things to the effect of:

"Oh, she's buggering with the _wrong_ Marauder…"

Sirius, Peter, and Remus all looked at him expectantly as he sat back down at the table still chucking and grumbling. Finding a dry patch on his robe, James cleaned off his glasses as he shook his head.

"What happened?" Remus demanded.

James's laugh was verging on manic.

"Same thing that happens with all our Prefects, Moony!" James grinned. "Oh, but it's going to be _brilliant fun_ with Evans!"

Remus eyed James warily, but was too put off by his friend behavior to press the subject. Peter shrugged at Sirius.

"I guess that answers your question, eh?" Peter observed.

Oh, who said the course of true love was ever supposed to run smoothly?


	5. Cackle Above, Crackle Below

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 5

Cackle Above, Crackle Below

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

Over the next couple of weeks, Hogwarts had officially become a war zone whenever James Potter and Lily Evans were in proximity of one another.

For the first week, James took every opportunity he could find to undermine Lily's authority and Lily never missed a chance to nail his arse to the wall for it. James had lost fewer points for Gryffindor in an entire _term_ at Hogwarts than he had that first week with Lily. Snape, the Slytherin Prefect, wasn't much help either as he had officially grown comfortable with his ability to abuse his power. James couldn't get into a simple exchange of insults with Snape anymore without Snape getting in the last word by knocking a few points off Gryffindors' total. To keep the other Gryffindors from lynching him in the night, James worked extra hard to be even more impressive than he usually was in his classes, just to make up the difference.

After the second week, Lily realized it wasn't fair to punish the entire House because James was a prat and decided to start meeting him prank for prank. This turned out to be a poor strategy on her part since James was much better at getting under her skin than the other way around. While she had jinxed his hat to flash the poem she had composed on the Hogwarts Express in his honor (which seemed to more than piss James off) he got her back with interest by slipping her a potion that made her voice squeak like it were on helium every time she raised her voice. James spent the entire day instigating fights with her just so he could laugh when she started to yell. He promised to give her the antidote, provided she made up a new poem in honor of how clever and handsome he was for the entire school to hear about.

Lily proved to all the Gryffindors just how angry and stubborn she was towards James when she sought out the Slytherins and asked Severus Snape for assistance, which he was uncharacteristically kind enough to provide. Since then, they were frequent partners during Potions class and had been seen talking to one another outside of Prefect meetings.

One lazy Saturday, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were found lounging under a large tree out by the lake neighboring Hogwarts. They were enjoying the nice weather while it lasted, with September coming to a close and reflecting on the mania of James, who was not present but was assuredly plotting to do something to Lily, who was off under her own tree chatting with Severus Snape.

"My, they're certainly chummy as of late," Sirius observed disapprovingly as he glanced over at Lily and Snape.

"I think you're reading into it, a bit," Peter remarked helpfully. "They _are_ both Prefects and what with James doing his best to be a bother she's probably just looking for someone to share some frustrations with."

"Bet he's looking to share something more than frustrations," Sirius grumbled. "Do you reckon they'll go on to become a couple now that they have hating James in common?"

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Sirius, I can see it now: lounging in bed, sipping tea over a Sunday Prophet while playfully arguing about which of them hates James more," Remus replied sarcastically.

"It suddenly sounds more plausible when you say it aloud like that," Sirius laughed, feeling a bit better as he tried to imagine the scenario.

"Speaking of James, you reckon we'll be shipping him off to St. Mungo's for a bit of rest?" Peter smirked at his two sane friends. Remus grinned but shook his head.

"Nah, he seems to be getting back to himself a bit," Remus replied. "He's still quarrelling with Lily, but it seems to be more for sport than whatever grudge those two have going on between them."

"Which we _still_ need to get out of one of them!" Sirius growled. Neither James nor Lily had been very explicit in why they were fighting, exactly, but the silence and speculation around the topic had more than the Marauders interested.

"I'll wager Moony is right," Peter agreed. "James is just doing all the stuff he used to do to her back in 1st Year lately, and I think Lily's putting on a show of being madder than she actually is, since it's expected of her to be indignant."

Both Peter and Remus had a point. Virtually all last week (the third week of the Potter/Evans debacle), James and Lily had pretty much given up on elaborately pranking one another or subtracting large amounts of points from Gryffindor, and their rivalry degraded into juvenile means to get a rise out of one another. When James's major plan of attack consisted of yanking Lily's hair when she wasn't expecting it and taking off down the hall, the students of Hogwarts pretty much assumed that the feud was winding down.

"Well, I hope you two are on to something," Sirius replied. "When we're not getting the 'guilt by association' end of things, Lily's off and about with that grubby Slytherin."

"We just need to come up with a means to make them reconcile their differences," Remus assured. He glanced over Sirius's shoulder as Arabella Figg approached the three Marauders and joined them. The three boys silently hoped she wasn't going to start yet another rousing conversation about cats.

"Going on about Lily and James?" Arabella asked curiously. "How are things on James's end?"

"Well, he's given up that mad cackle he acquired whenever he came up with some new stunt to pull," Peter reported. Arabella giggled.

"Yeah, Lily had one of those too," she informed. "I think she's calming down a bit since she's stopped referring to him exclusively as 'that randy prat'."

"Still looking to fix those two up?" Sirius asked with an interested tone.

"What's this about?" Remus shot Padfoot a curious look, showing that this was evidently news to him.

"Oh, I mentioned to Sirius a couple weeks ago that I thought Lily and James fancied one another," Arabella explained to Remus and Peter before turning to Sirius. "No, I've pretty much given up on those two, but I wouldn't mind getting them back on good terms." Sirius seemed to smile a bit at this while Remus dawned a thoughtful expression.

"I think most of Hogwarts could agree with you there," Peter sighed. "Well, any brilliant ideas, gentlemen?"

"The Hogsmeade trip is next weekend," Sirius recalled. "Maybe if we get them on neutral ground, they'll be a bit more reasonable."

"Maybe what we need to do is get their minds off one another," Arabella suggested with a coy smile.

"Such as?" Remus was almost afraid to ask.

"Well," Arabella blushed slightly. "I find James a bit dashing and I'm sure one of you three can find something to appreciate in Lily."

Peter and Remus's eyes shifted over to Sirius, who was officially on the edge of his seat.

"You suggesting we attempt to court them, 'Bella?" Sirius confirmed eagerly.

"Only if you're interested," Arabella replied.

"Very!" Sirius smiled broadly. This was the best break he'd had concerning Lily since they all had arrived at Hogwarts.

"Well, I suppose I could put in a good word with Lily if you'd return the favor with James," Arabella winked. Sirius was nodding so fast it looked as though his head would threaten to fall off. Arabella smiled, still blushing a bit. "Alright then, I guess we'll see what we can manage for next weekend. At the least, let's make sure we all meet up at the Three Broomsticks for a round of butterbeers at about two or so."

"Sounds like a date," Sirius agreed as he smiled at his friends. Peter returned a grin but Remus seemed to be forcing his smile a bit. Sirius would have asked him about it but the sound of exploding firecrackers jerked all their heads to where Lily and Snape had been sitting.

Lily and Snape were on their feet as colorful sparks exploded just a few feet from where they had been seated. Lily's head darted back and forth as she tried to discern from where James (because it _had to be James_) threw the Filibuster Fireworks. A mad cackle from the branches of the tree drew her and Snape's narrowed eyes. James peered down at them, seated on a thick branch with a satisfied grin that broke only to laugh.

"JAMES POTTER COME DOWN HERE SO I CAN RING YOUR NECK PROPERLY!" Lily roared while pointing into the tree. This just prompted James to laugh harder.

"Bollocks to that!" James declared. "You're welcome to come up here, though, if you're that inclined."

"I'll be confiscating every last one of those firecrackers from you!" Lily promised.

James shrugged. "Guess I better use them all up then."

Half a dozen more fireworks fell to the ground and went off around Snape and Lily's feet. Greatly amused with himself, James's laughter practically drowned out the hissing and screeching of the exploding pranks. Fed up with James, Snape removed his wand, glowering.

"Step back, Evans," Snape cautioned as he put a hand on Lily's shoulder, pulling her back with him.

"ABRUMPERE!" Snape cast at the branch James was sitting on. James abruptly stopped laughing as he heard a loud snap as the limb of the tree broke at the base, sending him crashing nearly twenty feet to the ground, sprawled across the branch. Lily gaped at him with her hands over her mouth.

"James!" she gasped. "Are you hurt?"

James peeled himself partially off the branch so he was in a seated position and rubbed his shoulder.

"I've fallen from twice that height in Quidditch and was able to walk off the pitch," James groaned as Lily nodded, processing the information. He shot a hateful look in Snape's direction that Snape was more than happy to return. "I could have landed on my head, you git!"

"Come now, Potter, you say that as though it would have harmed something important," Snape hissed.

"I'm glad you're fine," Lily stated with a relieved sigh. "Now I can mangle you in clear conscience!" With that, Lily lunged at James.

"Oh, bugger me!" James cried as he scrambled off the branch and took off into the field with Lily right on his heels. James would have started laughing if he didn't need every last gasp of breath to keep out of Lily's reach. Snape might of pursued them if he didn't have every confidence Lily was more than capable of handling herself against Potter.

From where the Marauders and Arabella Figg were watching, they had a good view of Lily flinging herself at James, tackling him to the ground by the waist. It took her little time after that to crawl on top of him and start pummeling, and James could be heard laughing while struggling to get her off the top of him

The four couldn't help but erupt into laughter themselves at the sight of their Prefect bludgeoning Prongs.

"He's got that mad cackle again," Peter observed.

"Don't you think we should break them up?" Remus asked between chuckles.

"We could…" Sirius nodded. "Or I could put a galleon on her bloodying his nose."

"You're betting _against_ your own best friend?" Remus laughed harder as he toppled into the grass.

"I've got two thinking Prongs pins her in ten," Peter chimed in on James's behalf.

"Put me down for a galleon on Lily," Arabella reached into her robe pockets.

As Lily struggled on top of James, growling, the more he giggled at her and the more she wanted to shut him up. Right now she had the advantage since all of her weight (though was not all that much of it) was on him, keeping him to the ground. But, as she half expected, James's six foot something frame, which was more than toned from his years as a Quidditch Chaser, managed to flip her to the ground. Pinned beneath James, Lily fought against James's grip as he panted and laughed. Finally, Lily relented, realizing she wasn't getting anywhere.

"Let me up," Lily ordered.

James pretended to think about this. Lily snorted through her nose, growing tired of his childish behavior. "That wasn't a request, Potter! That was a command from your _prefect_."

"You're damn bossy considering you're the one on your back!" James smirked. She was positively adorable when she stared at him with that pout over her face. He released his hold on Lily but didn't remove himself from atop her.

"James…" Lily had an edge of warning to her voice. She didn't know what he was playing at but she was starting to become aware of the looks from all the eyes watching them, and more importantly, the one in James's

"Fine, I'll let you up," James promised in a hushed voice. "If you ask me nicely."

"_Please_. There, satisfied?" Lily agreed quickly. James smiled.

"…and let me kiss you," James finished.

James watched Lily's face change to genuinely stunned. He knew it was, at best, a long shot, and wasn't sure what had possessed him to say it, but he held his breath anyway, wondering if she would actually let him.

For her part, Lily couldn't believe James had actually said that to her. Considering the way they had been going at one another for nearly a month, Lily had been almost positive that anything that may have happened between her and James Potter was now lost to a petty grudge. Lily was almost inclined to believe he was sincere, but then she realized it would be just like James to try to extort some sort of confession from her that he would just use to tease her with more.

James watched Lily's expression contort in anger as she brought her fist up to sock James in the jaw. With a groan he rolled off Lily as she hurried to her feet and glowered down at him.

"I hope _that_ will contribute something valuable to your learning curve!" Lily hissed. James stared up at her smiling from the ground while holding his cheek.

"Certainly did," James agreed. "I won't bother asking next time."

Lily made a disgusted noise, leaving James laughing like the loon he was in the field by himself.

She couldn't figure out what the hell James was up to, but her heart was pounding furiously and she didn't know if it had everything to do with her brawling with James. Finally, Lily decided that only a true prat would joke about kissing a girl like that and marched back to where Snape was waiting for her.

"If you're going to lecture me on how undignified it was for a Prefect to behave as I just did, I am more than aware," Lily assured as she took a seat under the tree, panting.

"Actually, I was going to compliment you on that left jab to Potter's jaw," Snape contradicted with a thin smile. Lily had to laugh.

"I was particularly proud of that one myself," Lily agreed.

"By the way, I'm subtracting ten points from Gryffindor for Potter attacking a Prefect," Snape informed Lily.

"That's alright, I was planning on taking the same off of Slytherin for destroying school property," Lily shrugged with a grin. Snape glared at her as though he intended to crossly respond, but decided to grin instead.

"Fair enough, then," Snape relented.

"Now the question is what should happen to me for pummeling James Potter?" Lily inquired.

"Nothing short of an Award for Special Services displayed in the trophy room," Snape decided. Lily laughed some more.

Finally getting off his back, James went to go meet up with his friends. He swaggered over to the group, blood smeared at the corner of his mouth and glasses completely askew. He was attempting to brush off stray grass, but was laughing too hard to do a very thorough job of it. James hadn't looked or felt this much like his old self in weeks.

Peter groaned as he gave back the coins Arabella and Sirius had just passed him since their wager was something of a draw.

"For a man who just got his arse kicked by a girl, you look pretty damn proud of yourself," Remus observed as he handed James a handkerchief to wipe the blood and sweat from his face. James accepted it as he threw himself down on the ground.

"Oh, come on," James grinned. "The look on her face when she caught me in that tree was _more_ than worth it!"

"I thought it was funny," Arabella quickly complimented. James nodded at her.

"Which is why you have taste," James assured, prompting Arabella to blush.

"Just how long were you in that tree?" Peter asked with a hint of awe in his voice. He always had a hero worship of James and was impressed even a little more by his friend's relentlessness.

"I don't know, I reckon about an hour," James shrugged.

"How could you have _possibly_ known they would sit under it?" Remus remarked in disbelief. Arabella smiled shyly.

"James, er, asked me to suggest it to them," Arabella admitted. James tried to look innocent and the Marauders laughed. Arabella shoved James playfully. "Of course I _never_ would have done so if I knew you were going to rain explosives on Lily's head!"

After the laughter had died down, Sirius turned to Arabella knowingly.

"So we're on for Hogsmeade then?" Sirius winked at Arabella. James looked quizzically at them.

"You guys meeting up or something?" James asked hopefully. He wondered if Sirius had unconsciously elected to make his life simpler by given up on Lily for Arabella.

"Something like that," Peter snorted.

"We're going to meet up with 'Bella and Lily at the Three Broomsticks," Sirius explained. "Provided you can promise not to do anything to earn her ire before hand."

James smiled at this.

"I think I can manage," James promised. If Sirius was off his crusade for Lily then maybe he'd have a shot at setting things right with Lily without having to worry about mucking things up. James couldn't keep from grinning at the thought that, in a week's time, they'd all be at Hogsmeade and would possibly be putting these past few sordid weeks behind them.

James smiled at Remus but was a little bit put off to see that he didn't appear as happy as the rest of them.


	6. The Game of You

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 6

The Game of You

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

The cool afternoon breeze ruffled Lily Evans' long red locks as she leaned over a balcony, watching other Hogwarts students commiserate in the school courtyard. It was Tuesday, three days since James Potter had decided to drop a crate's worth of Filibuster Fireworks on her and Severus Snape and James had not so much as placed one toe out of line. In truth, he seemed to be going out of his way to be more than civil to her whenever their paths crossed but made an effort to not be too much underfoot.

Naturally, she suspected he was up to something.

Lily really didn't know what to think about James anymore. When they were younger, he was kind of obnoxious to her, always clowning about or attempting to get the faintest rise from her, just for a giggle. She still managed to like him, though, because Lily knew in her heart that he was only doing it for sport and really meant nothing offensive by it. After James had become firmly established with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew she got the impression she had more or less dropped from his radar in the wake of his little boys' club, or whatever their group was. It was around their 5th year that James had started speaking with her on a more frequent basis and now, in their 6th year, it seemed as though there was little they could do to escape one another's attentions.

In addition to her nostalgic thoughts, Lily was also preoccupied with what had happened in the field.

_"…and let me kiss you."_

What the hell did that mean?

Lily found her mind playing the scene over and over, as though she would find something that had been overlooked in the heat of the moment. Had James really meant it? Had he wanted to kiss her? Or was it all just some ruse, some new tactic James had devised to get her flustered?

_"If it is just some ploy, it's cruel,"_ Lily thought.

It had taken her about a week to get over James peeping on her. Lily was by no means happy about this, but the anger had drained from her after a while. Now the whole ugly business seemed like a book she had read or an incident she had once heard about, something she felt sort of removed from.

Besides, Lily figured James was probably either too decent or too much of a coward to get a good look at her anyway.

Lily hoped James wasn't just toying with her. Never mind that she did find something attractive in the boy, but there was just nothing proper about manipulating a person's emotions. So Lily was faced with the dilemma of whether James was leading her on for a great big laugh later or...

…Well, things would probably be simpler between them if James was just leading her on for a great big laugh.

"What's with the long face, Lily?" Arabella Figg inquired as she joined Lily against the balcony.

"Just lost in my thoughts," Lily shrugged as she turned to Arabella.

"About?"

"The usual."

"Ah," Arabella replied. "So you'll be going to Hogsmeade this weekend, right?"

"Yes, all the Prefects are," Lily nodded. "Want to do something while we're there?"

"Sure! At the least we'll have to grab some butterbeers," Arabella quickly agreed. She paused a moment before continuing. "You remember that conversation we had the first night back? About James Potter?"

"About whether or not I was interested in him," Lily remembered, but wanted to know where Arabella was heading with all this.

"Yes…" Arabella had grown awkward. "I have to ask, and I'd like it if you'd tell me. Are you interested in James Potter?"

"I-I don't know how I feel about James these days," Lily answered honestly. "Why are you asking, Arabella? Looking to set me up with him?"

"Actually, the opposite," Arabella confessed. "I had, um, someone else in mind, but if you tell me your interested in James, that will be the end of it."

Lily didn't like being put on the spot like this. She didn't want to commit herself in any way to James Potter if he was setting up to play her for a fool, but she found it hard to just so easily hand him over. Deciding that there was only one real way to discern exactly what James wanted of her, Lily said the only thing she could think of.

"I'm only interested in seeing what type of girl James could fall for," Lily placed out simply enough. "If you can think of someone you think he'd fancy, there's only one way to be sure."

Arabella seemed to breathe a little easier at this.

"Hogsmeade will be fun. AnythinggoingonbetweenyouandSeverusSnape?"

Arabella got out quickly. Lily had to laugh.

"What do you do? Just sit around and concoct love scenarios involving me?" Lily demanded. "Snape and I are friends. No, that's not right; we're _friendly_ with one another."

"I was just wondering how free a spirit you are these days," Arabella shrugged with a shy grin.

"Single," Lily replied firmly. "Do I get to ask you sordid questions about your fraternizing with Sirius Black?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," Arabella smirked. "We're just getting on well these days, that's all." Lily wondered if Arabella was hinting at harboring feelings for Sirius and raised an eyebrow.

"So what do you think of Sirius?" Lily asked with an interested tone. Arabella's expression lit up, as though she had been waiting the entire conversation for Lily to ask her this.

"I think he's brilliant and gorgeous, certainly a riot," Arabella proceeded to list. "That and he's such a good and loyal friend. They don't come much nicer than Sirius."

"Well one of us had better snatch him up then," Lily suggested coyly, hoping to provoke Arabella along. "I don't believe he's attached at the moment."

"Well, he's not really, but I think he might have his eye on someone," Arabella said with a knowing expression. Lily wondered if Sirius and Arabella were on the verge of some sort of relationship. Smiling, Lily decided to be as supportive as she could be to her fellow Gryffindor.

"Everything you said about Sirius sounds right on the galleon to me," Lily agreed. "I think he's about as decent as they come and any girl who caught his fancy would certainly be a lucky one."

Arabella let a giggle slip out from her lips as she practically quivered with joy.

"Oh, Lily! This weekend is going to be so much fun!" Arabella promised happily as she ran off. Lily was glad things seemed to be going so well with her friend and hoped they would get only better for her. Arabella seemed to be pretty confident about what she saw in Sirius and Lily envied that kind of certainty.

Now if only she could figure out James.

Sirius was finding himself with a serious lack of amusement that same Tuesday after classes. James was off practicing for Quidditch and Peter had made a run to Hogsmeade, unable to wait a few more days to get his hands on a large brick of Honeydukes famous chocolate. Sirius had tried talking Remus into playing Spark in the Dark with him, but Remus was sadly too wise and fond of all his hair to agree. They sat in the bedroom they shared with the other Marauders, playing a civil game of Wizards Chess to pass the time until their friends got back. After talking casually about Quidditch (in between criticizing one another's moves) Remus decided to bring up a question, which had been nagging at his mind.

"Sirius, just how serious are you about Lily Evans?" Remus asked directly.

"I'm not following you," Sirius frowned, then realized the potential problem looming. "What's this, you interested in her too?"

"No, I'm not," Remus answered quickly but sincerely. Sirius seemed to relax a little after this. "I'm just curious about what she means to you, is all."

"Hard to say," Sirius shrugged. "I mean, I know her only casually from outside of our studies. Seemed like a more than decent girl to be interested in, though."

"That's true," Remus agreed. "I just wanted to know why her out of the hundreds of others about."

"I don't really suppose she is all that different on the surface. I've known plenty of girls to be smart or pretty or charming," Sirius admitted. "Lily's something to ponder because she happens to be all those things at once. That and watching her go back and forth with James showed off a side I didn't give her credit of having. I thought Lily was something of a straight laced broom in the mud before she took to insulting James and pummeling him into the grass!"

Sirius laughed as he relived the incident in his head. Remus frowned and looked at his board, so as to pass himself off as trying to figure out his next move in Chess. In reality, Remus was wondering what his next move should be in this whole question of Lily.

"I've been meaning to ask, what do _you_ think has possessed James lately?" Sirius inquired as his laughter died down. "I mean, he's been obsessed with nothing but showing up Lily for damn near a month but just stops out of the blue. What do you reckon has gotten into him?"

Remus had a suspicion but he didn't think it was his place to share it with Sirius. Instead, he hoped to guide his friend to his own conclusion by playing along.

"Good question," Remus replied. "I've never seen James act like that toward anyone before. Even his dislike for Snape was never as consuming as what he had going on with Lily."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius paused to think deeply about this. Remus watched him hopefully, silently encouraging him to begin piecing the clues together for himself. Sirius glanced over toward his present friend. "Kind of makes you wonder what it must have been they were fighting about, anyway."

"Odd James wouldn't tell us," Remus observed and Sirius nodded to this.

"Certainly is, Mr. Moony," Sirius agreed. "I'm thinking it's either something really embarrassing or really horrible if he's willing to hide it and Lily won't mention it."

"I think you might be on to something with that." Remus had been wondering about what had happened to James that night he never returned to the room, which he figured was around the same time he had done whatever it was to provoke Lily's fury. Remus was fairly sure it wasn't something uncharacteristically terrible of James, as Lily seemed willing to still interact with him, so that left a humiliating instance of some sort.

_"Or maybe,"_ Remus thought, _"it's neither. Maybe Prongs is pleading silence because he has no choice."_

Remus had come to suspect that James's feelings for Lily had drifted from the platonic. Around last year, when James had taken to making an effort to see Lily more about Hogwarts, he would always seem nervous and start running his hand through his hair (as he did whenever on the spot). Remus couldn't be certain but he thought Lily might like James too, but Lily was always pretty nice to everyone so it was a little hard to gage. Their visit to Diagon Alley and James's consuming preoccupation with Lily had made him wonder what was at the root of the two's frustrations toward one another, but the incident last Saturday had started pulling Remus's suspicions together.

When James and Lily were having it out with one another, it struck him as less ferocious as it was flirtatious.

Remus was betting that James was aware of what was going on between himself and Lily, but he knew James well enough to wonder if he was as much in the dark about what was going on as Sirius seemed to be. Figuring he'd need to talk to James and get him to discuss things with Sirius soon, Remus resigned himself to concentrating on his game rather than the complicated affairs of those closest to him.

It was then James stepped in to the dormitory, clad in his Quidditch uniform with his broom in hand and covered in grass and sweat. He made his way to the showers with a swift wave to his friends.

"Hold on a minute, Remus?" Sirius asked as he abandoned his move to chase after James. Remus leaned back, craning his neck to catch a view.

"What's up, Padfoot?" James asked with a glance to his friend as he started to disrobe.

"Just wanted to see if you wanted to get together and work on Transfiguration homework later on," Sirius shrugged. "Don't want anything coming between us and Hogsmeade, hmm?"

"Oh, yeah, that'll be great!" James grinned appreciatively. "What with Quidditch I could use the focus on my lessons."

"I figured as much," Sirius shrugged. "So, about Hogsmeade. You don't mind that I promised we'd hang about with Arabella, do you?"

"Lily not going?" James frowned. Remus's ears perked up to this.

"No, she is," Sirius assured happily to himself. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't have your heart set on a boys' day out and whatnot."

"Nope," James shook his head. "The girls are more than welcome."

"Yeah, it's kind of nice bashing around with them," Sirius agreed. "Arabella especially." James straightened up at this. Maybe Sirius was really interested in Arabella. Quickly, James's mind worked to produce something to help seal the deal.

"Certainly," James smiled. "A pretty girl and live wand, that one! Hard to not get all giddy along with her when she'd in a room, hm?"

"Like her then?" Sirius raised his eyebrow. James shrugged at this.

"If you fancy her, then why shouldn't I trust your judgment?" James decided as he headed to the showers.

Remus was in complete awe of how two such incredibly stupid people managed to pull of becoming animagi before the age of sixteen.

Returning to the room, Sirius winked at Remus who rolled his eyes in return.

"I think I'm going to take a long nap," Remus announced as he flopped on his bed and buried his head under his pillow.

"What about our game?" Sirius frowned.

"Oh, I think enough pawns are being moved about!" Remus replied through his pillow.

The first weekend of October brought beautiful weather with it. A chill ran through the air, leaving the students who visited Hogsmeade occasionally adjusting their cloaks and talking about their intentions for warm mugs of Butterbeer. Lily had lost track of the Marauders soon after arriving, but they were undoubtedly working their way over to Zonko's Joke Shop. Arabella had intended to spend most of the day with Lily but when she got the impression she'd be sharing her time with Severus Snape, decided to go off with some of the other Gryffindor girls to pick out dress robes for the Yule Ball the Prefects were intending to hold over winter holiday.

Lily strolled around Hogsmeade while Snape more accurately patrolled. He kept up his conversations with Lily all the while darting his black eyes about in search of unruly Hogwarts students. Snape interrupted the discussion occasionally to yell at someone or deduct points. Lily, confident Snape was enforcing school conduct enough for the both of them, tried to enjoy the day and distract Snape whenever she could from being, well, Snape. When Snape subtracted points from a Hufflepuff girl for using poor grammar, Lily decided to comment on the scene.

"Perhaps you should ask Madam Pomfrey about that when we get back to school," Lily vaguely suggested.

"About what?" Snape stopped glaring at a couple Ravenclaw boys who were glaring at him to look at Lily.

"About whether you will, in fact, _die_ if you have a bit of fun," Lily grinned. Snape scowled, evidently not amused by Lily's criticism.

"We're responsible for these students while they're here, Evans," Snape reminded. "Their behavior is a reflection of the entire school."

"And are you excluded from this?" Lily inquired. Snape snorted out some air, evidently refraining himself from tearing into Lily. Placing a hand on his shoulder, which stiffened under her touch, Lily's green eyes shined at Snape. "All I mean by it, Severus, is fear and respect are not the same thing. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life having people listen to you only because you can bully them around?"

"Fine," Snape quickly agreed. "I'll select my battles a little more carefully; however, don't expect me to be lenient with Potter and Black once they start up with their usual nonsense." Snape threw a deliberate look Lily's way.

"As opposed to?" Lily baited.

"I simply feel you allow your good-nature to be an invitation for deviant behavior," Snape replied. "You may catch more flies with honey but then they're certainly stuck to you afterwards, aren't they?

"So you're suggesting I'm a soft touch," Lily said with a stern look not unlike one of Professor McGonagall's.

"I would do no such thing," Snape insisted. "I'm flat out telling you that you are one."

"So scowling about and barking at anything that gives you a second glance would be an improvement?" Lily shot back. Snape seemed amused by this.

"Perhaps it would make you a little thicker skinned when it came to constructive criticism," Snape shrugged. Lily sighed, realizing Snape had a point in his own berating way.

"Tell you what, Severus," Lily offered. "If I attempt to be a little more aggressive in my duties as a Prefect, would you work on being a bit more passive?"

Lily extended a hand towards Snape. He glanced down with a harsh look of inspection as though he expected some sort of weapon to be present. Turning his eyes on Lily's, Snape's cool hand accepted her in a firm shake. A small smirk formed on his lips.

"Agreed, but I warn you Evans, I have very little in the way of a nurturing nature."

Lily smiled at this. "Well I suspect you make acting like an utter git look much easier than it actually is."

Snape looked at her sideways a little at this remark and decided that Lily Evans was the only person he'd allow to get off free and clear after calling him a git. Lily nodded to the store behind them with a friendly smile.

"Want to stop in at Honeydukes for a bit?" she suggested.

"I'm not particularly fond of sweets," Snape informed stiffly.

"Oh, come on now, who isn't?" Lily stopped when she noticed Snape was no longer looking at her.

As Snape released her hand, Lily turned her head and saw some other older Slytherin: Lestrange and his steady girlfriend, along with Avery, Macnair, and Nott, were leering at them. Lily blushed a little bit since they may have interpreted Snape holding her hand differently from what she had intended.

"I believe I shall talk with some of my fellow Slytherin for a while," Snape announced with something of a hiss. Lily could only assume he was more than annoyed with the idea of being spied upon, even if they were all a part of Slytherin. "Why don't you seek out some members of your own House to socialize with for the remainder of the afternoon?"

Lily nodded, getting Snape's message. Facing into the display window of Honeydukes, Lily watched Snape and the other Slytherins' reflections in the glass. As Snape stalked over to them, Lily strained to hear their conversation.

"Taken up voyeurism, have we?" Snape spoke through his teeth.

"Nice, mate," Macnair sarcastically approved. "Count yourself lucky a looker like Evans has perverse taste in men." Snape threw a look back in Lily's direction, as though to discern if she was listening or not. Lily felt herself blush more as she began to imagine the rumors soon to fly about school.

"Perhaps next time you're ogling her you'll take notice that her robes are a Gryffindor's," Lestrange's girlfriend advised with a sneer. "Maybe that will bring you back to reality long enough to see you're being made a fool of."

"I think I'll take one point off Slytherin for every second of my time you waste with your nonsense," Snape's cold voice snapped out like a whip. "We're at thirty by my count."

Scowling at Snape, the Slytherins started walking off.

"Just remember _what_ you are, Snape," Lestrange reminded as he threw his arm around his girlfriend. "And who your real _friends_ are."

With that, Lily stepped into Honeydukes and hoped she'd still be able to try on dress robes in her size after the pound of chocolate she fully intended to eat.

The Marauders found that waving their wands about was an effective means to reserving a booth in the Three Broomsticks from any who attempted to encroach. With a round of hot butterbeers already in front of them, James and Sirius were getting a head start on their traditional argument about who was picking up the tab.

"I recall you shelling out the Galleons last time we were at Diagon Alley," Sirius smirked. "Only decent for you to let me get it this time around."

"Oh, to Hell with you if that counts!" James laughed. "I had to pick your robes for your coin sack just so you'd let me!"

"And you're a bloody bastard for that!" Sirius declared. "You let me walk around half the day looking for it, accusing and threatening every last Slytherin I saw!"

"To be fair, you had every intention of doing that anyway," Peter interjected.

"Whose side are you on?" Sirius demanded with a laugh.

"Whoever happens to be paying for my butterbeer," Peter grinned.

"Well then that's mine," Sirius informed as he threw a deliberate look at James. "Because I'm calling shenanigans on Prongs for dirty pool last time about."

"Moony, tell him I'm buying your drinks." James glanced with a grin to Remus, who started to shake his head.

"I'm afraid I agree with Sirius this time around, James," Remus apologized. James sighed as he was clearly outnumbered.

"Alright, our drinks are on you," James agreed as he took a sip from his mug. "Of course, I call buying drinks for the girls once they get in."

Sirius spit out a mouthful of butterbeer. Remus and Peter chuckled and raised their mugs to James for his nicely played trump of Sirius. Bitter that it would be James impressing Arabella and Lily, Sirius glowered at his supposed best friend.

"I wish the worst sort of ill upon your scruffy head, Potter," was all Sirius could mutter as he took an angry swig from his mug.

"If you mess with the stag, Padfoot, you get the horns," James cautioned with a laugh. He noticed Arabella and Lily enter through the doorway of the Three Broomsticks and nudged his other Marauders. "Make way, gents."

The four boys pulled themselves out of the booth to greet the girls. James put a friendly hand on each of their shoulders as he headed toward the bar.

"I'll grab you girls both a mug, eh?" James offered without waiting for an answer. Lily watched James run off curiously.

"He _really_ is doing his best to impersonate a decent bloke isn't he?" Lily observed as she felt Sirius put one of his own hands on her shoulder as he led her over to the table.

"You should have been here two minutes ago." Sirius cast a glare at James who waved to him like the prat he was. "Slide on in Lily."

As Lily took her seat in the booth next to Peter, with Sirius sliding after her, Sirius recalled his conversation with Arabella not a day earlier. She had informed him that Lily seemed about as unattached as she could discern and had spoken very highly of him when he came into the conversation. For his part, he had talked with James and was to make sure Arabella sat next to him in the booth. Sirius could only hope that the inside line Arabella had been feeding him was accurate, since he was planning on trying to get in good with Lily now that she seemed keen on him and tolerant of James. After all, if she couldn't get along with his best friend there wasn't much hope in a future for them.

When James got back with two mugs of butterbeer and a fresh round to come along in a short bit, he suppressed a scowl when he found Lily had been boxed in between Sirius and Peter. As Remus had cozily taken up one opening of the booth, James took the seat next to Arabella and handed both her and Lily their drinks.

"Fun day?" Remus asked politely.

"Both of us got our robes for the Yule Ball. Lily went with a beautiful green to go with her eyes," Arabella announced, turning to James. Arabella smiled and went on in detail about herself. "I found a lovely looking one in a nice sky blue. The clerk offered it up saying it would go along nicely with my clear eyes and golden hair. What do you think, James?"

_Why the hell is she asking me?_ James thought.

"Um, sounds like it would suit you," James answered before taking a sip of his butterbeer, hoping he responded right. Since Arabella smiled broader at this, he guessed he had done so. "So Lily, you're intending to go to the Ball then?"

"Not much sense in a dress if I didn't," Lily observed.

"Right..." James pondered if there was a stupider question he could have asked Lily but decided it simply wasn't possible.

"I think you'll look amazing. You always have such excellent taste, and green is truly your color," Sirius charmed as he put his arm around Lily, causing both her and James to cast him a surprised look.

"Um, thank you Sirius," Lily responded with a blush. Why was Sirius Black coming on to her? Lily thought he and Arabella…

"So James, are you planning on going?" Arabella cooed at him, while leaning into her hand.

_If only to bludgeon Sirius off Lily with a stick! _James thought.

"Possibly," James replied. Arabella smiled shyly at this. Lily thought her jaw would threaten to hit the table. Arabella was flirting with _James_, not Sirius. Which meant...

"You know, I think you would look positively smashing in the House colors, James," Arabella advised. "You're always so dashing in your Quidditch robes." She deliberately ran her hand up the length of his side to emphasize her point.

That was when James half fell, half leapt from the booth. Five sets of wide eyes were staring at him as he jumped to his feet.

"Apologies! I've had a lot of sugar," James tried to explain away his jitteriness. Peter looked at him quizzically.

"I don't see how. We haven't even been to Honeydukes yet," Peter remarked.

"Well that's because I drank a mug of maple syrup before we left the school," James said quickly, glaring at Peter, who took this as his hint to shut his Charm hole.

"Oh, well why don't we go to Honeydukes then?" Lily suggested. "Be a shame to waste our day inside."

"Be a shame to make James act queerer," Sirius commented as he eyed his friend but started to nudge Arabella out of the booth. "Still, would be fun to walk about in such lovely company."

"Yes, good fun!" James agreed as he started throwing galleons on the table for the girls' drinks and a tip. Sirius contributed to the pool as they made their way out of the Three Broomsticks.

Sirius had been right. It was fun strolling around Hogsmeade with Lily and Arabella. Armed with a camera, Arabella kept snapping moments of them having fun about the burg, handing the camera off to the occasional member of the group so she could get in on a few pictures. Sirius kept finding excuses to get off ahead or lag behind with Lily while Arabella had taken to pulling James around by the arm to show him one thing or another. As Arabella scampered off to take a picture of Peter with some cat merchandise, James took Remus to the side.

"Arabella's coming on to me!" James hissed with a look akin to panic.

"Foul woman!" Remus responded in sarcastic outrage. "I say we ship her off to Azkaban before things get out of hand!"

"What's going on, Remus?" James demanded.

"Same thing since we left Diagon Alley," Remus shrugged. "Except now Sirius and Arabella have teamed up to bag you and Lily, I reckon."

"Oh bloody _hell_!" James shot a petrified look at Arabella, who waved. James forced a grin and waved back. "What do I do, Moony?"

"I don't know, but once you figure it out, remember a gentlemen never tells," Remus enjoyed James's flustered antics.

"Could you possibly attempt to be helpful?" James demanded frantically.

"I just don't see what the problem here is," Remus replied. "Arabella is a lovely woman to be attached to. Unless there's someone else you're fancying at the moment?"

Remus gave James an expectant look. He was hoping James would take the initiative and confess whatever was happening to himself, Lily, or Sirius, because his hand had just been forced and he couldn't possibly bluff everyone much longer.

"Um…" James sought the right response. "No. I just don't really think of her like that, is all, and I, um, want to let her down easy."

"Oh, come now James," Remus patted his friend on the back. "You'll never know how you feel about anybody unless you give them a chance. Unless you have some _good_ reason for not being with Arabella, I'm going to personally tell her not to let up until you give her one."

James hated Remus a little at this moment and hoped it showed.

"Thank…you," James said coldly as he sulked off.

"It's called tough love, James," Remus called after him. "There will be a day when you understand and that will be the day you thank me for it."

Remus smiled a little to himself. He hated to see his friend so miserable, but he had to teach him not to bring it on his own head.

"Everyone gather about!" Arabella called to the group. "I want one last picture of the lot of us together in front of the Shrieking Shack before it's time to go on home."

Remus joined the others for the picture. Never the shy one, Sirius had an arm around Lily's waist while Arabella was practically coiled around James's arm. Everyone either offered or forced a smile in the last of a series of pictures that would provide memories they would later treasure and question.


	7. His and Her Circumstances

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 7

His and Her Circumstances

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

In the weeks approaching Halloween, the school was abuzz with rumors about what was going on with some of the most popular faces at Hogwarts.

As far as gossip was concerned…

…James Potter was jokingly referred to as the new ghost of Hogwarts since he seemed to all but vanish unless he was eating, at class, or practicing Quidditch. On the rare occasions he was spotted out on the grounds, Arabella Figg was certain to be present and rather cozy with James. Most of the school was filling in the blanks of James's frequent absences and they were often randy and sensationalized guesses. For the most part, everyone seemed to approve of the coupling as James was known to be witty and outgoing, so it only made sense that he'd get along well with an attractive girl who was known to be quirky all her own.

If you were to ask Arabella, she would insist that nothing so tawdry was going on with James behind closed doors (though some felt she was merely trying to guard both their reputations), but she was wildly fond of him.

If you were to ask James…

…Well, good luck finding James to ask him.

While James was busy fending off the relentless advances of Arabella, Lily Evans was the subject of the remaining gossip. As they were both Gryffindors and had virtually the same schedules, Sirius Black and Lily Evans often headed from one destination to another in each other's presence. Lily appeared fond of Sirius and had only nice things to say about him when he was mentioned in conversation, but refrained from indicating whether they were anything more than friends.

For his part, Sirius took any opportunity that crossed his path to make it known how special Lily seemed to be to him. Half the girls were swooning over the compliments they quoted Sirius to have said to Lily and the other half was completely envious that it wasn't them being paid all these attentions to by one of the most popular and attractive men at Hogwarts.

"If there were ever a witch and a wizard made for one another, it's those two!"

"It's like the fairytales me mum used to tell about kindly princesses and handsome knights!"

"Hold on! I thought she was with James?"

As far as James was concerned…

…Most of the school could up and go to Hell!

James felt like a cornered animal most of his waking hours as Arabella had this impressive knack for finding him wherever he happened to be. He had taken almost exclusively to getting around Hogwarts by means of the tunnels and passageways outlined on the Marauder's Map. Although it was a round-about means of doing things, James was more than willing to handle a little inconvenience if it meant being able to duck out of being caught alone with Arabella. James had yet to master being direct with women and there was something about the aggressive type that helped complicate things greatly. Usually he was reduced to grinning and stammering while Arabella did all the talking and managed to work in bit of affectionate (but by no means indecent) petting or so. To avoid such public displays just begging to be perverted with rumors, James spent all his free time in his room and ventured out only when absolutely necessary.

Aware of how much time Lily and Sirius had been spending together, James's two weeks spent in hiding came to an abrupt end as he realized that he couldn't effectively keep Lily from falling for his best friend if he wasn't there to do something about it. Not wanting things to get out of hand with Arabella (or Lily and Sirius), James took his persistent pursuer aside in an effort to explain things as best he could. James told Arabella that he was fond of her as a friend but didn't really think of her as much beyond that. James had expected her to cry or scream or even hex him but he hadn't expected her to smile and laugh.

"Your friends warned me you'd be like this!" Arabella scolded adoringly as she began to list her information off on fingers. "Sirius Black reckoned that the only reason you haven't settled down yet is because you needed a girl as hardheaded as you! He told me you'd probably fancy the sort of girl who could hold her own with you so you wouldn't have to worry about coming off as pushy or offensive and the like."

_Great, now it will be impossible to get her to let up_, James thought.

James hated that his best friend knew him so well, as James did admire certain resilience in a woman, and made a mental note to kill Padfoot for knowing too much.

"Peter Pettigrew thought you were the sensitive type underneath it all and shy away from commitment unless you're certain of the person," Arabella continued. "And, for your information, James, it's not as though I've taken to calling myself 'Arabella Potter' or anything of the like! I'm just looking to talk and get to know you better is all! I haven't even insisted on so much as a kiss from you!"

James sighed as he recognized that Arabella had been fairly reasonable (although a little unremitting), all things considering, and felt guilty for trying to avoid her. He was also both impressed and inconvenienced at Peter's insights. Wormtail was right; James found intimate attachments to other people a complicated process. While he was more than friendly with practically everyone, James noticed that there were but a few that he shared any sort of genuine rapport with. For his part in contributing to Arabella's relentlessness, James had half a mind to strangle Peter.

"Remus Lupin didn't have as much to say on the matter," Arabella concluded. "He merely said that if you weren't truly interested in a wonderful person like myself then the only fair thing you could do by me is be completely honest as to why that is."

James could groan aloud as he marveled at Remus's ability to guilt trip him from afar. Beginning to suspect that not all of his friends were as ignorant of his attraction to Lily Evans as he had assumed, James was tempted to talk to Remus and get his perspective on the matter but knew already what Moony would advise him to do. Since Remus had done what he could to not lead Arabella on without betraying his friend, James decided Moony would be spared the bloody reckoning that awaited their other friends.

"Some friends I have," James slumped against the wall.

Arabella offered a lopsided grin as she joined him. "I think they have your best intentions at heart."

"The funny thing about that, Arabella, is you're right," James said in a depressed tone.

"So, what about it then, James?" Arabella pressed. "You have any decent reason as to why we can't hang about?"

James ran his wand hand through his hair and gazed over at Arabella.

"Actually, I do."

"Oh," Arabella replied quietly. She paused expectantly for him to continue.

"I'm sort of interested in this other girl," James whispered as though he had just confessed a horrible secret. Arabella nodded silently without looking at him.

"Who?" Arabella sounded like a sad little owl when she spoke that single word and it broke James's heart a little to see the traditionally vivacious Arabella Figg so downtrodden.

"I - I'm not at liberty to say." James shifted his gaze.

Arabella seemed to be nodding to this as well.

"So is this the same girl you were with that first night back?" Arabella asked. "I mean, that's just something I heard."

"Um, that's a complicated sort of question..." James muttered.

"I'm sorry, it's really not my business," Arabella apologized. She looked up, as though a thought had just suddenly come to strike her. "But where has she been, then, all this month?"

"Pardon?" James's thoughts weren't connecting.

"I mean, I've been anything but subtle about my intentions for you, James," Arabella observed with something of a blush. "What does she have to say to all that?"

"Oh, well... she doesn't really know how I feel about her," James deflated.

He wondered how Lily did feel about all this. Whatever it was, it certainly hadn't broken the surface of her exterior. Of course, James had been holding up in his room a lot lately.

"Then, you can't see me because you fancy a girl, whose identity you can't divulge to me, that doesn't even _know_ that you fancy her?" Arabella verbalized. James suddenly appreciated just how lame his reasoning sounded.

"Um, yeah," James agreed uncomfortably. Arabella sighed as she pushed herself off the wall to face James with a gentle smile.

"Are you making this all up for my benefit?" Arabella demanded.

James was tempted to stare at her as though she were mad for believing the complicated affairs of his life was nothing more than a ruse, but then he realized just how absurd it all happened to sound once he was done.

"No!" James insisted adamantly. "Arabella, I swear every last word I have uttered has been nothing but the pathetic truth of my life. I can't be with you because I'm completely infatuated with a girl who I'm not entirely certain takes notice of my existence outside of passing!"

Arabella started to laugh and James felt as though he could cry.

"James, look, I believe you, okay?" Arabella offered. "I'll do what I can to back off a bit."

James sighed appreciatively and prepared to profusely thank Arabella for being so understanding until she continued.

"…but don't expect me to give up! I mean, unless you're planning on making anything official with this mystery girl who might not even be interested in you, I see no reason as to why I should abandon you all together," Arabella smirked. "If things between you and your crush get serious, do let me know. Otherwise, I'll see you around."

With a small wave, Arabella trotted off and James couldn't help but wonder if it was possible to arrange for a death curse to be cast upon him in the near future.

As far as Lily was concerned…

…The whole school needed to invest in a life.

As though Lily didn't have enough on her mind without worrying about what new rumor was in circulation at the moment. Lily used her studies and duties as a Prefect to get lost in her own life. She had spent much of her free time in between with Sirius Black since James Potter was rarer to come across than a phoenix as of late. Guessing that Sirius was a bit lonely, Lily didn't mind keeping him company, but over the past couple of weeks she sensed a pattern in Sirius's intentions. Lily would be lying if she pretended to not be flattered that Sirius Black had his eye on her, but she wasn't sure if she returned the same sentiment. This provided no small source of guilt to Lily, as she didn't want to lead Sirius on but wasn't sure if there was anything to truly prevent her from pursuing what he was so clearly inviting.

Lily caught herself secretly hoping that James might give her some sort of reason to resist the charms of his best friend, but he appeared to be getting along famously with Arabella. However, in the defense of James, he appeared more than a bit awkward whenever she caught Arabella purring up against him like a cat. The nasty part of Lily wanted to believe that the only reason James was upset was because he couldn't toy with her emotions as effectively if she knew he and Arabella were an item. Of course, Lily was pretty certain that James was sincerely distraught by Arabella's advances and simply didn't know how to handle the lively blonde.

Wishing she could be mad about the sordid state of her life, Lily felt she only had herself to blame in the end. She had, after all, practically insisted that Arabella make a play for James, as unwitting as her support may have been. It wasn't Arabella's fault if she had the forthright nature to follow the brilliant advice of her friend and Prefect. So why hadn't Lily acted on it herself?

"Because, in the end, I don't really know James," Lily admitted softly to herself as she patrolled the halls with her Prefect badge out in plain view.

It was close to lights out for the evening and she wanted to be sure that all the Gryffindors in her charge were on their ways back to the dormitory if they weren't there already. She had shooed a younger member of the House by the name of Bill Weasley off not five minutes before and figured there was at least another straggler or two about. Until she crossed paths with them, she was left with her own roundabout thoughts.

Beginning to think she had overestimated James's capacity to manipulate people and he was, in fact, just a prat who was completely ignorant of how senseless he could be, Lily wondered where that left things between them now. They had barely exchanged any dialogue since their trip to Hogsmeade, and what little conversation they had never amounted to anything important since Sirius or Arabella would shortly wander in and break up the conversation. Lily just figured the only reason they bothered trying to speak at all was to make sure the other still knew they were alive and about, in some fashion.

_It simply wouldn't be proper for me to fight it out with Arabella since I'm not sure I even want James,_ Lily's mind worked. _She probably knows more about the boy by now than I do._

What did she know about James?

Lily didn't have much of an opportunity to explore that question as she turned a corner of a corridor and ran into Severus Snape. Thrown off balance, Lily felt herself stumble slightly until Snape caught her upper arm to steady her.

"Thanks," Lily sighed.

"You should be more careful," Snape advised rather than criticized.

"Wasn't really expecting to run into anyone. Let alone literally," Lily explained as she adjusted her robes. "Sorry by the way."

"I believe I'll manage," Snape dryly replied. "Shall we walk together for a bit?"

"That would be nice," Lily sighed gratefully. She wouldn't be forced to ponder her previous line of thought about James with Snape around since he only bothered to mention his rival in brief and insulting increments.

"I haven't seen much of you outside of Potions," Snape observed.

It was true that she had been keeping herself pretty busy when Sirius wasn't. Lily couldn't be sure if this was Snape's means of indicating he'd somewhat missed her company or if he was simply flexing his ever astute perception.

"It's not intentional. I've just been rather preoccupied lately," Lily assured.

"As I've heard," Snape nodded aloofly.

"So our Houses will be playing against each other in only a couple weeks, then," Lily referred to the first Quidditch match of the year. Lily knew Quidditch was one of the precious few things Snape was sincerely fond of, especially when it was a Slytherin victory over the Gryffindors.

"I feel as though my team may have the advantage this time around," Snape commented with a smug grin. "After all, _our_ Chasers are only concerned with chasing about a quaffle."

"I'll have you know our Mr. Potter is all business once he steps onto the pitch," Lily defended the Gryffindors against Snape's innuendo.

"I suppose we'll see how well placed your faith is then, come November." Snape attempted to sound indifferent, but Lily knew he was anything but.

Still, Lily actually enjoyed some of the time she spent with Snape. He was an available source of intelligent conversation and his wit kept her constantly on her toes. Surviving an afternoon with Severus Snape made dealing with the usual banter of James, Sirius, and their other friends relatively tame.

"It's good to talk like this. You know, I think you're the only person who hasn't bothered to ask about Sirius and I," Lily noticed appreciatively.

"Mine is not one of the many lives which revolve around yours, Evans," Snape informed. Lily cringed at this. She immediately regretted bringing it up as she realized Snape probably had little desire to hear about the affairs of her social life. Snape observed her sudden silences and decided to clarify himself. "That is to say, it's not my place to pry."

"Don't ask, don't tell, then," Lily agreed.

"I have little to say on the matter is all," Snape rationalized.

"What _do_ you have to say?" Lily asked meekly, which provoked a quizzical expression from Snape. She was tired of a bunch of giggling girls telling her to jump at Sirius and her constant preoccupation with James was wearing at her as well. "I just wanted to ask someone who knows me, that's all."

Snape sighed at this and stopped walking in the hall for a moment. He evidently wasn't comfortable with being placed on the spot like this. Lily doubted she'd get anything less than the usual venom Snape spewed at the mention of Sirius or his other friends, but she needed to hear something different from what she had been listening to for half the month. Pondering his response, Snape's black eyes shot at her decisively.

"Superficially, everything about you and Black makes sense. Attractive, popular, adept at magic..." Snape seemed to loath admitting this, Lily guessed because he was actually complimenting Sirius. "However, you asked for the opinion of someone who knows you, Evans."

Lily held her breath as she waited for Snape's real response on the subject.

"I suggest you seek your own counsel then," Snape flatly recommended. "You're the only person here or anywhere that has the faintest idea of what's right for you."

"That's it?" Lily couldn't help but sound surprised. "You know, for a man who's rarely at a loss for telling people how to better conduct themselves..."

"Is that what you were hoping for, Evans?" Snape stepped forward, looming over Lily in an almost intimidating manner. "That I would _tell_ you what to do?"

Was that true? Had Lily just wanted someone to come along, tell her the right path to walk so she could wash her hands of the entire matter without a second thought? Lily bit her lip.

"No," Lily decided. Snape nodded, taking a step back.

"Never give _anyone_ the power to control you, Evans," Snape warned. "Especially if you're only reason is because you are either too indecisive or too lazy to manage your own affairs."

Lily paused with her mouth slightly agape, poised to argue against this point, but she merely exhaled instead.

"I know, thank you Severus," Lily replied. "You're so incredibly right I feel stupid that we even had to have this conversation."

"There are harder lessons to learn with more dire consequences," Snape assured. "I trust you'll live through this one long enough to make our next Prefect meeting?"

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow." Lily produced a smile. "Good night, Severus."

"Farewell, Evans," Snape nodded as they parted down opposite halls.

Lily headed back toward the Gryffindor dormitories, deciding that she wouldn't close herself off to either Sirius or James.

"No one says I have to commit to either right this moment," Lily realized aloud. "I shouldn't stop socializing with Sirius simply because James confuses me and I should find out more about James before I give Sirius any sort of answer. As long as I make that clear, I'm not being unfair to either, I think."

Lily entered the common room, relieved that everyone had seemed to go off to bed without her having to threaten someone with her wand. Making her way up the stairs, Lily became aware of a presence watching her. She glanced up the landing to see James Potter perched on the edge of a step peering down. She didn't know if he had been waiting for her, but a part of her was happy to see him.

"Rough night?" James inquired, barely shifting from the position he seemed to be comfortable in.

"Not so bad," Lily shrugged. "Where have you been hiding yourself lately?"

"Mostly my room," James confided before coyly adding, "few other places I can't let the Prefects get wind of."

Lily smiled slightly to herself at this.

"That's what I'll always be too you, won't I?" Lily asked without any resentment. "The opposition?"

"Yes, in many ways…" James threw a sad smile at her, "and no for many more."

In truth, Lily and James themselves had become the biggest obstacles in their own relationship and until they figured that out for themselves, they were stuck in a stalemate. James slowly pulled himself onto his feet before looking down at Lily once more.

"What does that mean?" Lily pressed.

"It means…" James chose his words, "…that I don't think you'll ever know what you are to me."

James started up the stairs before casting one last glance Lily's way, but this time his smile was one of solace.

"Don't worry. I doubt _I'll_ ever really know either. Night."

Lily heard the door to the boys' dormitories close. Sighing, she walked over to her own bedroom and entered, all the while wondering to herself how such a bizarre little exchange could offer so much hope to her life.


	8. First Signs of Land

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Chapter 8

First Signs of Land

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: Taiyourshoes

November was bright and crisp at Hogwarts and everything seemed to fade into the background, as the first Quidditch game of the season was only a few days away. Making peace with their respective problems, both James and Lily were in higher spirits now that they had each come to the conclusion that they were in control of their own lives.

Lily had approached Sirius, explaining that, for reasons not entirely specified, she wasn't looking for more than a friendship at the moment. Disappointed but by no means daunted, Sirius respected Lily's wishes though made it clear that he had no intention of abandoning his hopes for them altogether. As he never wandered from the boundaries she had established, Lily and Sirius remained on exceedingly good terms and were seen often in one another's company. Having come to their arrangement earlier on, James and Arabella were seen spending time together but only in a casual manner that none could definitively say was beyond friendship. It was obvious that Arabella was still looking for something more to develop between them but had managed to tone down most her interactions with James to nothing more than flirting.

Back to their usual antics, the Marauders made it a point of order to prank Slytherins, making sure their rival House would be good and riled up for their upcoming match. Lily Evans was less than thrilled with this behavior as it meant she was often left apologizing to Severus Snape for the actions of her fellow Gryffindor. Amazingly enough, Snape was still willing to speak with Lily (although he would often point out her lack of control as their Prefect). Things came to a head when the Marauders had spent an entire afternoon gathering garter snakes only to enchant them with the Gryffindor House colors and set them loose in the Slytherin common room.

It required Peter and Remus to pull Lily off of Sirius and James for having to deal with Snape after the mongoose used to round up the snakes had mauled his leg. After fits of hysterical laughter at the image of this, they agreed to let up on the Slytherins for her sake.

Still, this passed for normal amongst the Gryffindors and, by the end of the day, they could still say they were friends.

On the morning of the Quidditch match, James received an Owl at breakfast. James was more than curious by this since he had no family to write to him and virtually everyone else he knew either taught at or attended Hogwarts along with him. The stationary was that of the Ministry of Magic and James frantically sought his brain for what he might have done recently that could have earned the ire of the magical bureaucracy. Once through the envelope, James saw the letter was from Frank Longbottom and sighed in relief.

Longbottom was a well-respected Auror within the Ministry whose family line was incredibly popular amongst wizarding kind. As many Potters tended to be, James's parent had been Aurors as well and worked closely with Frank Longbottom, who wasn't even ten years older than their own son. James's parents had died not long after Frank had joined the ministry and, out of fondness for his parents' memories, Frank and his recently married wife took it upon themselves to keep an eye on James until he was old enough to manage his own affairs. They were far from alone in this responsibility as other Wizards associated with the ministry, such as the Bones family and the great Albus Dumbledore himself, made sure that James Potter would grow to become the respectable person his parents had envisioned, in spite of their premature departure from his life.

Dear James,

The holidays are steadily approaching and myself and the Misses see little sense in you staying alone at your parents' home if it can be helped. If you're not interested in spending the break at Hogwarts, we'd be more than happy to take you on for a stay! If you have plans though, I trust you'll have more than an interesting time. I know I did on the few occasions I stayed over on holiday. Back in the day, eh? Regardless of where you decide to stay, you'll be in ample supply of some of our plum cakes; the recipe has been in the family since Ollivander's started making wands!

Things going well at Hogwarts, I trust? Must be keeping yourself occupied with Quidditch and your lessons, not to mention whatever plots you and your friends are cooking up for the Slytherin. Incidentally, be sure to prank them once for me! Write us about what's going on in your life so I can pass it along to those who are interested in how you're getting along.

Looking forward to your reply!  
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Longbottom

P.S. If you have a lady friend you'd care to invite, don't even consider it to be an imposition!

James smiled at this. He supposed Frank figured he should start prying and meddling, as his parents undoubtedly would be if they were still around. Doubting that he would have enough time to compose a decent letter and eat breakfast before his match, James decided he would respond to the Longbottoms later that evening or the next morning.

Folding the letter into his Quidditch robes, James was joined by the rest of his team to warm up on the pitch.

Still in the Gryffindor dormitories, Remus and Sirius were busy adjusting their robes and scarves so they would be properly supporting their House at the match that afternoon. After the third time of bellowing for Peter to join them, the two other Marauders decided to investigate what was detaining their friend. Crouched over his cauldron with a wand in hand, Peter was completely transfixed with some loose sections of parchment clutched in hand.

"What have you made here, Wormtail?" Remus peered into the brew and twitched his nose at the pungent odor wafting out.

"Dunno for sure," Peter admitted as he flipped through his notes. "I was attempting to churn up something special for after the match. Best I can figure, it's either alcohol or a stupefying potion."

"You say that like there's a difference," Sirius smirked as he knelt next to Peter.

"Only in the sense of whether the effects are gradual or instantaneous," Peter mumbled as he passed the parchments over to Sirius. Taking the notes from his friend's pudgy hands, Sirius poked at some of the ingredients while studying the directions implied.

"I think you've got about the right idea here," Sirius nodded approvingly as he rose, patting Peter on the back. "I'll help you finish it once we get back, but we have to go."

"Thanks," Peter breathed appreciatively as he joined Remus and Sirius on their feet.

"Best not let anyone find that," Remus frowned. "I don't feel like explaining a bunch of staggering 1st Years playing Spark in the Dark to McGonagall later on."

"Bah, we'll just offer her up a drink if that happens," Sirius chuckled. Remus just shook his head with a smile as they shut the door behind them and went to meet up with the other Gryffindors in the common room.

The House Prefect, Lily Evans, led her fellow Gryffindors out to the Quidditch pitch. Everyone was excited, in particular the 1st Years as many were seeing their first game of Quidditch. Lily remembered what it was like for her way back when. Having come from a Muggle family, Lily had been still reeling from all the wonders of the Wizarding world in general, but to see something like Quidditch… Well, all the descriptions in the world from her Wizard-born friends couldn't have prepared her for it.

Passing by the Slytherins, insults were traded between Houses as a traditional part of the pre-match fun. Lily spied Snape leading the front of his House. He noticed her but they shared only a swift, acknowledging nod of their heads before splintering off to take their respective places in the stands. If they didn't have their entire Houses behind them, Lily guessed they might have said something to one another; however, it would be a little unorthodox as things were now. Still, Lily predicted that if the Slytherin won, it would be days before Snape bothered to stop pointing the triumph out while a Gryffindor victory would probably mean days before he got around to speaking to her again.

Lily took a seat on a bench between Sirius and Remus, looking expectantly on at the field.

"Big fan of Quidditch, Lily?" Sirius asked as she surveyed the pulsating stands.

"Not nearly as much as Arabella seems to be," Lily smiled. Arabella was so excited, keeping her seated for more than a few moments was near impossible. She calmed only slightly after stampeding Peter's foot.

Lily glanced between Remus, Peter, and Sirius.

"So how come none of you went out for Quidditch with James?" Lily inquired, as they all shared a lust for excitement and both Remus and Sirius seemed to be in better than average shape.

"Well, I'm often too under the weather to be able to handle the practices, and there are some days of the month that I'm no good at all," Remus explained.

"I tried out with James, but he won the spot over me because he was a daft bastard with no regard for personal safety. You know, the qualities the sport prides itself on," Sirius reminisced with a sarcastic grin. "And I'm pleased to say that it, in no way, affected the relationship I have with that backstabbing bloody wanker."

"I was something of a klutz when I attempted, eliminated long before Sirius," Peter shrugged.

"Come now, Peter. Anyone could have mistaken a bludger for a quaffle." Remus patted his friend on the back.

"The important thing was the Seeker was there to break your fall," Sirius nodded, before he and Remus struggled to stifle their laughter. Peter shot them a look so harsh Lily thought it should be included in a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson plan.

"Oh, I _never_ get tired of hearing you two tell that story," Peter glared, as Sirius and Remus decided to just break down into hysterics.

"Good thing we never get tired of telling it!" Sirius gasped.

"You know what story _I never get tired of telling_?" Peter smirked. "The one where you uncovered that nasty enlargement spell that horribly backfired when you attempted to specialize it for -"

Remus and Sirius leapt on Peter, attempting to strangle him with his Gryffindor scarf.

"What have we told you about mixing potions in poorly ventilated areas?" Sirius shot Arabella and Lily a forced grin. "POINT MADE PETER!"

Collapsing into themselves through fits of laughter, Arabella and Lily grinned at one another while shaking their heads. A similar account had occurred with some girls in their dormitory, but they had long since agreed to omit the details of that event.

"You and I _need_ to have a luncheon sometime, Peter," Lily chuckled as the boys readjusted themselves into their seats, playfully shoving one another.

"GOOD AFTERNOON HOGWARTS! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR THE OPENING QUIDDITCH MATCH BETWEEN LONGTIME RIVALS: GRYFFINDOR AND SLYTHERIN, WHO WILL BE ASCENDING THE PITCH MOMENTARILY!" The announcer's voice vibrated throughout the pitch. Riled and ready, the Gryffindors and Slytherins were already on their feet, cheering in support of their House teams.

As the Gryffindor Quidditch team headed toward the pitch, the members exchanged nervous, but broad grins. As Captain, it fell on James Potter to always pull his teammates together with some parting sentiments.

"Alright, everyone knows straight out whose the better players heading out there. When you're eye isn't on a quaffle, bludger, or snitch, respectively, it had better be on a Slytherin," James encouraged.

"Same to yeh, Cap'n, or ye'll be hav'n those pretty faces visiting yeh in the hospital wing!" Cassidy Kinkade, a team beater, quipped at James's latest reputation around school. James smirked.

"I'd break your arm for that if I didn't need you to wield that bat out there!" James assured before refocusing the team. Slytherin was always a tough rabble to contend with and were notorious for their dirty ploys. "Remember, expect the Slytherins to cheat because that's the only way they can hope to win against us. You give the Slytherins hell, Gryffindors, when you're giving Hogwarts a show!"

With that, the seven members of the Gryffindor House team mounted their brooms and flew in formation for their opening lap around the pitch.

The school erupted into applause, whistles, and cheers as the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams circled the pitch.

"Look! There's James!" Arabella squealed as she pointed him out in the lead of their House players. "He's positively _irresistible_ in those Quidditch robes of his!" Lily's eyes followed James on his broom.

"Damn those uniforms," Peter sulked. "Unfair advantage, is what it is."

"So we're on for pummeling James and stealing his robes then?" Remus smirked while leaning over to Sirius. Sirius laughed as Arabella joined in.

"Bloody hell, if you're up to that I get to be the one who does the stripping!" Arabella insisted with a wicked grin. The boys were in fits of laughter at this while Lily couldn't contain a smile. Their eyes all turned to the pitch as the match was about underway.

"MADAM HOOCH TAKES THE FIELD. THE QUAFFLE IS RELEASED AND -"

No sooner had the Gryffindors arrived in their common room had a party started up in honor of their Quidditch victory. Professor McGonagall conjured some refreshments for the House to feast on while some of the older students saw to creating decorations to make it all officially feel like a bash.

Everyone was talking, laughing, and all around enjoying themselves for the moment, not worrying about what exams they were expecting or how many feet of parchment soon to be due. McGonagall relived the game with the entire Quidditch team at one point or another, who neglected to change out of their robes to commemorate the evening. In between Peter and Sirius's frequent disappearances to their dormitories for some undisclosed reason, the Marauders were providing colorful slants of the events that had taken place, with Arabella joining in on occasion.

Lily, for the most part, felt as though she had the evening off also since everyone appeared to be behaving themselves. A little later on, Lily found herself discussing some school politics with Professor McGonagall while the remaining Gryffindors were heard laughing and chatting over the music in the background. Eventually checking her pocket watch, Professor McGonagall sighed at the time.

"Pity I must retire from the celebration so early on." McGonagall shook her head at Lily. "However, it's doubtful my lessons for next week will be preparing themselves."

Lily rose with the Head of her House to bid her farewell for the evening.

"Shall I see to wrapping things up then?" Lily asked.

"Oh, goodness no! It's barely past eight. I see no reason to ruin everyone else's evening simply because I will no longer be present." McGonagall allowed a shallow smile to pass her lips. "I trust you'll be able to manage things, Miss Evans, and be sure that the party comes to an end around a respectable hour?" Professor McGonagall's eyes pierced at Lily from over her glasses. Lily put forth her most trustworthy appearing demeanor.

"Not to worry, Professor McGonagall," Lily assured.

"Very well then," McGonagall nodded approvingly before addressing the remainder of the House. "And to you, Gryffindors, congratulations and mind your Prefect."

After McGonagall had clearly departed through the Fat Lady Portrait, the Gryffindors felt as though the party was truly ready to begin.

At the peek of Gryffindor tower was a vacant attic, with a panel of the cone shaped ceiling removed for students in the House to work on Astronomy homework when the regular tower was unavailable, although, most of the time, it was used for deeds most ladies wouldn't ask about and most gentlemen wouldn't repeat. James Potter sat in the center of the empty floor, with a parchment, bottle of ink, and eagle feather quill as company. The clear night provided more than enough light for him. He was debating his return letter to Frank Longbottom when he heard the door creak open and Remus Lupin step in.

"You could be doing that in our room." Remus gestured to the stationary supplies.

"No, I can't," James corrected. "Not with Peter and Sirius constantly coming up to me saying, 'Taste this and tell us if you go blind.'"

"Ah, so they're still at their bootlegging, hmm?" Remus observed as he glanced around the empty room. "Traditionally, this is no place for a man to be alone." James raised an eyebrow to this innuendo.

"Yeah, well now that you're here I'm sure a fresh batch of deviant rumors concerning my sex life will come into circulation," James muttered as he tapped the feather of his quill against his chin. Remus settled next to James and passed him an unopened butterbeer.

"You know, most men would kill for the suave reputation you have going for you," Remus informed. "Sirius and I are trying to get one going for Peter, but he doesn't help matters much when half the school suspects he attends Yule Balls with his cousin." James laughed, feeling slightly better.

"As flattering as it all may be, it's not my niche in our group," James sighed. "I feel like I'm stealing Sirius's thunder. He's the dashing one, you're the mysterious one, Peter's the dependable one, and I'm the prat."

"Nah, you're our fearless leader," Remus assured with a sip of his drink. "And, though it doesn't always speak well for the rest of us, you're also the brightest. Which is why I can't figure out why you're being such a git lately."

James glanced over to Remus before running his fingers through his already indomitable hair with a sigh. "Neither can I"

"You ready to talk about it?" Remus asked interestedly.

"Yes, just not at the moment," James agreed. "It's technically my night and all. Don't want to muck it all up by getting depressed, now do I?"

Remus nodded as he looked up at the moon that was nearly full.

"Tomorrow we have to head out to the Shrieking Shack, you know," Remus reminded. Remus was already feeling the ill effects of his condition and loathed how worse they would become in twenty-four hours time. If not for the presence of his friends on those dreaded nights, Moony was certain he'd be nowhere near as sane as he had managed to remain.

"Yes," James recalled, "we'll just persuade Padfoot and Wormtail to make a side trip to Honeydukes while I go with you to the Shack. You and I will have a nice long opportunity to reflect on what I wanker I've been. Maybe you'll even be able to see me better through it."

"I think the best I can do for you, Prongs, is simply let you unburden yourself," Remus admitted. "Any advice I give will probably be of the obvious variety."

"I figured as much, but I still think you have a point regardless," James shrugged. "I really need someone to talk to. I can't yet with Sirius because I feel I owe him an explanation that's better than the one I have so far, and Peter would mean well but he's a little awkward at this sort of thing."

Remus pulled himself to his feet, evidently preparing to leave James.

"Well, when you're ready, I'll listen and I won't judge you, old friend," Remus assured. "But you should know that I think you're worrying about the wrong thing, James. If I was in Sirius's position, I'd be more upset that you didn't think you could confide in me rather than you happening to have the same taste in women."

Damn Moony and his insights!

"If you're done ruining my evening…" James gestured to the door with a small grin. Remus bowed away apologetically and headed for the door.

"I'll see you down in a bit then," Remus bid farewell as he shut the door. James sighed and turned back to his letter. All he had scribed so far was the heading as everything else concerning his life seemed to be caught in such a tempest that James didn't know where to begin or if what he wrote would even be true. He had been so busy hiding truths and crafting lies as of late, who knows what he'd produce?

"I need something sincere, something honest to tie this all together," James decided.

Now all he needed to do was figure out what it could be.

Extinguishing the flame underneath his cauldron, Peter glanced to Sirius as he poured the contents into a large bottle.

"You reckon we pulled it off?" Sirius asked optimistically.

"Well, if not, I'm sure there's an open market for potions that cause projectile vomit," Peter shrugged as he corked the bottle. Remus joined them in the room while Sirius beamed at him.

"I very much doubt this is how all our parents envisioned our education at Hogwarts." Remus shook his head.

"Moony! Just in time for the taste test!" Sirius waved him over.

"I'll thank you kindly to keep your piss water away from me," Remus requested. He didn't dare provoke the beast within by relieving his inhibitions in the least. "You two should know I have little use for anything claiming to put hair on me."

"But this will put some on your tongue!" Peter tempted as he swished the bottle. Remus just laughed and shook his head again.

"No, thank you," Remus ended the conversation. "I only came in here to pull off my sweater, then I'll be rejoining the party."

"Then where's our Guinea Prongs?" Sirius demanded.

"Leave him be," Remus ordered with a swift point in their direction. "He's off writing a letter."

"Alright, fine," Sirius relented.

"We could probably find someone downstairs to take a swig," Peter said helpfully, to which Sirius nodded.

"Of course we'll need to devise a means to distract our perfect Prefect," Sirius said thoughtfully. "This will demand all our cunning."

"Well, I think I'll leave you two Head Boys to work that one out," Remus rolled his eyes as he left the bedroom.

Lily hadn't seen any of the four Marauders in about ten minutes and had started to grow suspicious, when Remus Lupin came down. Lily made a beeline for the tall boy and he smiled as she approached.

"Prefect," he said respectfully with a tight lipped grin.

"Where are your partners in crime?" Lily smiled sweetly.

"Up to very bad things, I trust." Remus offered a broad one of his own, showing off his slightly elongated incisors.

"Are you going to tell me or do I have to seek them out?" Lily questioned nicely. Figuring he wouldn't be able to bluff Lily all that effectively, Remus decided to play with the truth.

"Well, Sirius and Peter are working on something to make them more desirable to women and will be down shortly to test that out." Which was a half-truth at worst.

"And James, well, I believe he went up to the roof alone. Suspicious look to that boy, as he was working on a parchment," which was a fair assumption. Lily patted Remus on the arm appreciatively.

"Keep an eye on things a bit for me?" Lily requested. "I'm just going to make sure James isn't fashioning some make-shift hell to introduce into my life. Tell Sirius and Peter happy hunting for me, hmm?"

"Not a problem, Lily," Remus nodded as he inserted himself into the bash. Lily made her way up the dormitory stairs and disappeared. A few minutes later, Peter and Sirius rejoined the party and were casting their gazes around deliberately.

"What happened to Lily?" Sirius observed.

"I've arranged for her to go off and make wild accusations at James for a bit," Remus assured. "I reckon they'll exchange a few words before she realizes the most damnable thing in that attic is writer's block."

"Looks like we won't get to have our go at it then!" Peter snapped his finger in frustration.

"Yes, I'm sure it was brilliant." Remus, once again, rolled his eyes. "Just never mind her and get to your corrupting if you're still planning on it."

Without need for further invitation, Sirius and Peter were off. Satisfied with himself, Remus marveled at how he had managed to help all three his closest friends in a few short minutes.

James was still stuck on his words when he heard the attic door creak open once more. He turned to tell which ever of the Marauders he expected to see to leave him in peace, but found Lily Evans instead. Closing the door behind her, Lily approached James with an amused expression.

"Alright, what do we have here?" Lily faked a suspicious voice. "Outlining some sort of prank?"

James smiled self-consciously.

"Just hiding out for a bit." James confessed. "I'm trying to commit myself to writing a letter, but I'm not really getting anywhere."

"Oh." Lily figured that was plausible enough since she had seen him receive an Owl. "I guess I'll just let you…"

"No, stay!" James insisted. "It was starting to frustrate me anyway. I need the distraction."

"Well, alright then," Lily replied cautiously as she took a seat near James on the floor. She stretched her legs in front of her, leaning on her hands. She recalled a comment Arabella had made at the Quidditch match and determined there was some truth to her friend's statement:

James did look very handsome in his Quidditch robes.

"So, whom are you writing the letter to?"

"Umm, my guardians, of sort," James said. "Just want to see how I'm doing, is all."

It had slipped Lily's mind that James was orphaned. He carried himself so carefree about Hogwarts all the time that it was hard to recall what his life must be like outside the castle walls. Lily couldn't help but wonder what the mind of James Potter was like when he wasn't plotting against the Slytherin, defying school rules, or diligently studying his lessons. She imagined there was a sadness she wouldn't be able to appreciate and a loneliness she had never known.

"Your family, they were mostly Aurors, weren't they?" Lily asked carefully. She was hoping this wasn't too sensitive a topic for James to pursue. "Such a noble and brave profession to go into."

"Sort of a Potter tradition," James stated with a quiet smile. "Brash and convicted, I share blood with a line full of people who weren't all that accustomed to sitting about and hoping things would turn out fine in the end."

"You know what I heard once when someone had mentioned your family?" Lily breathed in the fresh night air. "A girl who had been fond of you back in our 2nd year told me, 'If the world were a storybook, every last Potter would be a prince adventuring about until they were done saving the day and off to live happily ever after.' But I don't think that's right."

"Oh?" James had a questioning sort of grin.

"When I thought of you, I told that girl if the world was a storybook, you'd insist on being the writer," Lily continued. James laughed a little. "That way, your cunning and your style would fashion something memorable. I said I didn't think it mattered to a Potter if the hero was always happy or safe, so long as the ending was for the best. From what I heard, it does your name little justice to say the most a Potter has to offer is pride and bravery. Not when there is integrity, selflessness, and morality to choose from."

This touched James as no words could describe. He had spent every quiet hour of his past few years wondering if all his family had sacrificed had been unnecessary, if there had ever been a point to a Potter facing some unmentionable evil, to fight some futile fight, and die as a reward for their valor. Of all the expressions ever offered to him, in times of remembrance and times of consoling, no one had ever selected such a simple string of words that had made James find a little peace with the loss of his kin.

James fought back the tears threatening his eyes. He couldn't risk scaring off Lily, not when they were finally building a rapport.

"So, what tradition do you have to uphold in your family?" James asked quietly, glancing at Lily.

"None really. I'm something of a pioneer." Lily grinned. "First Evans to be a witch, you know. I almost wish I had a few footsteps to follow in. I feel as though I could use a sense of direction."

James shook his head at this.

"The thing to understand about wizarding families, Lily, is that they all run back to that one person who started them, and that's the standard," James explained. "The choices that person makes, the life they choose to lead will be what guides every last drop of blood that flows through their descendents' veins."

"So no pressure, huh?" Lily groaned, causing James to laugh.

"You're not getting it, Lily," James informed. "You are the first and only of your kind. You will never have a shadow to try and escape from underneath, no sins of the blood to repeat or repay. Every step, every wave of your wand is a first that will fashion to mold what all following you will be cast from: brilliance, resolve, talent, beauty, and compassion. I assure you, Lily, most wizarding lineages would be lucky to lay claim to but a single of those qualities, and you'll be the progenitor, the one blessed with all of them. That much I can be certain of."

Lily was completely taken aback. Always feeling as though she would never fit comfortably in her own skin, Lily was constantly conflicted with the fear she would always be too much of a witch to ever go back to the Muggle world and too long a Muggle to ever grasp the world of a Wizard. Striving with an unrelenting thirst to prove herself to everyone, Lily had made sure the bar was always out of reach so she would be forced to attempt even more with each leap she took.

All the praise of her professors, her peers, and even her pride had never offered the respect and sincerity James had just offered, and she didn't think he would ever know that.

"So," Lily broke the silence. "You're suggesting I keep my name when I marry?"

"Wouldn't go that far." James made an exaggerated disgusted face for effect.

"Oh, I can be a progenitor but not a surname!" Lily tried to be offended.

"I'm just saying it makes it harder for poor blokes like me looking to carry on the family name if we have all these women looking to start their own," James reasoned with a laugh Lily could share.

Lily looked at James more fondly than she probably ever had before.

"You know, this isn't the gallant, overconfident James Potter all the Gryffindor have come to know," Lily observed as she started to hug her knees. "What would everyone say if they saw their House Quidditch Captain had a side to him that was sensitive and vulnerable?"

James blushed at this a little before he started to run his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I know, this really isn't me," James stated apologetically, but Lily just started to shake her head.

"Oh no, it is," Lily assured grin. "I just think _this_ is more you than that prat you pass yourself off as."

"I've been working at that," James said sheepishly.

"I've noticed," Lily nodded. A silence hung between them as both Lily and James looked away from one another.

They wondered what happened next.

Courtesy of whatever the hell it was Sirius and Peter had managed to brew, half of the Gryffindors were completely drunk. Having a slight amount of decency between them, Sirius and Peter decreed that no one under 5th year would be allowed to take a drink of the exceptionally potent liquor they had concocted. Sitting on a couch off to the side, Remus mused over the inebriated antics of his housemates. After having her fill of dancing, Arabella sank down next to Remus, panting slightly.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Arabella demanded with a grin as she rested her head on Remus's shoulder.

"Because I don't have a curvy figure to compensate for my utter lack of rhythm," Remus rationalized.

"Okay, why aren't you drinking?" Arabella asked.

"I've just got a dark side to keep at bay, love." Remus tried to sound cooler than he actually felt and figured Arabella wasn't really buying into it.

"You're not very fun," Arabella observed with a giggle.

"Well, you're not very sober so I won't take it to heart," Remus grinned as Arabella fell into fits of obnoxious laughter. Remus decided that she was more than amusing to watch like this.

"You know who _is_ fun?" Arabella slurred.  
"James," Remus guessed under his breath.

"JAMES!" Arabella declared. "I bet_ he'd_ dance with me! Maybe even go for a snog, hmm?"

"Hmm, I don't think you should count your dragons before they've hatched, Arabella," Remus sighed gently. He felt horrible that Arabella fancied James as much as she did. For his part, Remus had been careful not to outright encourage Arabella's pursuit of James but there was little he could say aside from that which wouldn't betray the confidence of his friend. It was true that James hadn't been trying to lead her on, but his lack of decisiveness with Lily provided a false hope whether he meant to or not.

"I think I'm going to go find James," Arabella announced as she staggered to her feet and came close to tipping over. Remus leapt after her, grabbing a hold of the girl to steady her. Arabella looked as though she had suddenly been struck horribly ill.

"I think we'll be finding you a bathroom," Remus groaned as he threw his arms around Arabella and started to lead her toward the stairs.

They passed by Sirius, who was trying his damnedest to do a handstand at the moment for the benefit of some of his housemates. Kicking Sirius hard enough in the torso to cause him to crash into the ground pathetically sprawled about, Sirius laid there laughing as he looked over to Remus.

"Hey, I almost had it there!" Sirius protested indignantly as the other Gryffindors were in hysterics.

"After I'm done spending half the night holding Arabella's hair, I'm coming down here and beating your and Peter's arses," Remus informed curtly as he helped Arabella up the stairs. Remus could only pray things didn't get too out of hand while both he and Lily were gone and sighed at how cross their Prefect would be once she rejoined the party.

Sitting alone in the Gryffindor attic, Lily was the first to glance back at James. Forearm rested over a knee, James stared into the vast mosaic of stars with a soft blue light looking back. His hand ran through the length of his hair, something Lily had picked up was a nervous twitch. Absorbed in whatever thoughts he was entertaining, James's expression reminded Lily of someone lost to some stretch of ocean who was always keeping his eyes open for the first signs of land. It was then she saw James Potter for the first time, along with everything he struggled to keep hold of and everything he tried to keep at bay.

As James brought his wand hand down from his head, Lily took it into her own.

It was his expression that changed first. Eyes wide, but not looking at her, Lily found her analogy of the sea to be even more true as James appeared to have just seen whatever it was he had been long searching for. It was with a blink he turned back to her and Lily saw something in James's eyes that she had never seen before and wasn't sure she'd ever see again.

Caught in a waking dream, James felt himself gently squeeze Lily's hand as he realized he had never seen her look more beautiful to him than at that moment. She wasn't gliding down a corridor like an embodiment of grace or laughing with every last strand of her coppery hair flowing harmoniously about or even regal and brilliant as she preformed perfectly in a lesson.

In fact, Lily had never looked more insecure, vulnerable, or disoriented as she did just then.

Figuring he wasn't in a much better state himself, James started to act in the only way he could think to, the only way he wanted to. Pulling her hand slightly towards him, James forced Lily to lean in slightly as he moved to meet her part way. Raising his other hand to the side of her face, James guided Lily closer to him, never once seeing a hint of hesitation or resistance flicker over her transfixed expression. And once Lily's beautiful green eyes slowly fell shut, James closed his own and met her lips with his.

Her mouth opened with either a gasp or a sigh and James took this as an invitation to deepen the kiss. Although this was not his first kiss, it was hard to remember what they could have been like before it. The only thing James could say for certain was that he knew the rapture and contentment he was experiencing with Lily Evans had never been a part of all the ones before. And for possibly the simplest form of physical intimacy two people could share, James had never felt anything more gratifying in all his life.

Still holding her with both his hands, James realized the thing that would be most important about this kiss in whatever would come after it was not that he had been the first to kiss her.

But that she had kissed him back.


	9. Deperire

Usual Disclaimer: All the characters (well almost all of them) are property of J.K. Rowling and I'm merely borrowing her brilliance and her world with no claim to it at all. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon in particular since they're help in filling in the holes of Ms. Rowling's world has been invaluable to making this story as authentic as possible. Please look them up sometime.

As for why I chose to focus on the Lily and James era of things? Well the characters aren't so deeply established (for the most part) that I have to worry about stepping over Ms. Rowling's toes and perverting her thoughtful creations beyond necessity. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always appreciated.

_NOTE: Pensieve was originally written pre- OotP and has not been amended to fit the canon of the 5th Book. I have no intention of rewriting this to include JKR's more recent books and interviews since it is fanfiction. If you are a canon conservative you may wish to read something else, but for those of you who don't mind a few discrepancies I hope you enjoy reading Pensieve as much as I have writing it_

Deperire

By: Oy! Angelina  
Beta by: Taiyourshoes

Passion coursed through Lily and James with the vitality of a flame over dry wood, consuming and intensifying. At some point during the kiss, James had released the side of Lily's face to use both his hands to pull her closer to him. Practically cradling Lily against him, James began to run his hand over her face, through her hair, and along the length of her frame. Although overwhelmed in his euphoric moment with Lily Evans, James refused to move his hands anywhere that would be considered a violation of trust.

For her part, one of Lily's hands roamed aimlessly around his back as if afraid he would suddenly pull away while the other gripped his arm tightly as though to hold on. Soft moans in the forms of breaths passed between their lips and after a few minutes of this, the two finally broke apart.

At first they did nothing but breathe and stare into one another's faces. James kept tracing Lily's features with his fingertips as he gazed at her as though he had never seen anything like her before. Slowly, Lily propped herself up on one of her arms, still fixated on James. It was in a shaky breath that she finally broke the silence.

"That was…" Lily breathed as though a compliment. She recognized how stupid it sounded, but so are most exchanges of dialogue before and after a first amazing kiss.

"Yeah," James agreed as he nuzzled against her neck before slowly kissing it. Lily closed her eyes, feeling herself being pulled back into the eagerness of the moment that had never quite passed. She heard James speak in whispers near her ear.

"Two months. That's how long I've been wishing and agonizing over whether this would happen," James confessed. "It was worth it. I would have waited longer."

Lily felt herself blushing. The things James was doing to her physically and emotionally were catching the words in her throat.

"When did you first realize?" she asked, mind spinning.

"The first night back," James replied hoarsely. "I watched you for eight hours. I couldn't stop thinking about you throughout the entire night and never could after."

Reeling, Lily felt James against the nape of her neck, shifting hair out of his way. His words only barely registered with her.

"But how could you?" Lily tried to focus. "How could you have been there? I could never figure it out." That had been the mystery in Lily's mind and though she had been tempted more than once to ask James where he had been hiding, she restrained herself out of fear of what it would do to their tentative friendship.

James was so enraptured with kissing and caressing Lily that he almost told her about the invisibility cloak. Licking his lips, and Lily's neck in the process, James wondered if he should - if he could? So much of what the Marauders did depended on the invisibility cloak and the cloak was only effective so long as no one knew it existed. Lily was still a prefect and James was unsure of how she would use the information if given to her. What if revealing the existence of the cloak betrayed Remus or led Lily to his dangerous secret? What if it betrayed all of his friends? Realizing that he couldn't tell Lily, James hoped she wouldn't pursue the subject.

"Is it important to know that?" James breathed, running his lips over her flesh.

"Yes," Lily gasped.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because then I'll know."

"Know?"

"That you trust me with all the things in your life that you trust Sirius and Remus and Peter with."

James pulled away from Lily's neck to look into her eyes while stroking the side of her face. He stared at her with a pleading expression.

"Please, I will tell you anything and everything about me," James vowed, "but don't ask me to tell you about things that involve my friends. Don't ask for secrets that aren't mine to give."

Lily's eyes were locked on James, studying his expression, studying his sincerity. Slowly, she pulled away from his embrace, away from him. James made no effort to hold her there but felt her slip out, literally, beneath his touch.

"And in the end, I'll always be the opposition," Lily said more to herself than James. "I will always be a prefect first and foremost." James breathed deeply at this, feeling as though the ground just gave way.

"I just _can't_ incriminate my friends, Lily," James explained. "Anything, _anything_ about me is yours to know. Please don't ask me to betray the trust of the three most important people in my life just so I can earn the trust of the person I love."

That final word hung in the air, freezing both Lily and James in a gaping silence. Had he meant it? This was a thought both their minds struggled with. Swallowing hard, James took Lily's face into his hand once more.

"I'm in love with you," James decided in a whisper.

Lily pulled away, staggering to her feet. James followed right after her, close enough to watch the tear race from her eye but not near enough to catch it.

"But you don't trust me," Lily nodded, with her lip quivering as she ran for the door. Panicked at how sharply all their emotions had just turned, James threw himself after Lily, slamming the door shut just as she had started to open it.

Lily turned to face James, to tell him to let her leave, but the words were blocked with James's mouth, pressing her into the door as he embraced her again.

She felt him kiss her.

She felt herself kiss him in return.

The kiss was as potent as the first they had shared but all the emotions behind it were different. It was needy, anxious, and trying frantically to scream something at the both of them. While the first kiss felt as though it would go on forever, this one felt like it would be the last of its kind.

Lily was crying now.

"James, please," Lily sobbed quietly. "It can't work like this."

James edged only slightly back, feeling defeat looming over him, but refusing to give up just yet.

"It can," James insisted as he kept kissing her in short but heartfelt gestures. He began to kiss the tears from her face as they made their way from her eyes.

"But you can't even tell me something I have the right to know. What you did was an invasion of my privacy before and I am trying to understand you, James, but how can I when so many things between us are shrouded in secrecy and lies?" Lily pleaded. "How can I trust you?"

"Can't you just trust this?" As the desperation hit his voice, James felt himself start to cry. He had to make her understand; they were so close to understanding each other. "It was like I woke up one day and my whole world turned around you. And the scariest part about that was I couldn't remember it being any other way. I know I haven't always shown it, but there were reasons, complicated reasons that are meaningless to me now. And I'm a wreck because of it all!"

James bore his eyes into Lily's.

"You couldn't do this to me, Lily, if I didn't mean everything I said. You wouldn't have this kind power over me otherwise."

Still crying, Lily pushed James away from her, unable to look at him as the tears poured to the floor.

"The easiest thing to forget, James, is never to give someone the power to control you." Lily broke down.

The words of Severus Snape that stung Lily were bitterer than the tears in her eyes as she fled down the stairs. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Lily raced back down to the party and hoped James wouldn't follow.

James was stunned for a moment, wracked with grief, rejection, and loss. If he listened to his mind, James knew that following Lily would probably accomplish little aside from upsetting her more. If he listened to his heart, James would do everything to reclaim the frail moment they had lost which he knew should have always belonged to them. Tired of listening to the thing which had kept him at bay for two months, James listened to his heart. And though he had heard Lily's parting advice, James didn't care if Lily had the power to control him.

Because, the simple truth of the matter was, Lily had always had that power over him.

James chased Lily down to the party, jerking to a halt at the base of the stairs. It was only the most fleeting of social mores that prevented him for screaming after her and pursuing the conversation she had abandoned because James knew dragging all the Gryffindor common room into their discussion would win no points with Lily. Trying to duck around anyone who approached him, James followed Lily into the thicket of the bash with every intention of carrying her off if he need to. Before he could reach Lily, Peter, who was not particularly sober looking, grabbed a hold of James's robes and forced him to stay in place.

"Prongs!" Peter exclaimed. "Turns out it _was_ alcohol me and Sirius made! Just a sniff of it is more than enough to get you pissed, turns out. Need to remember this one!"

"Peter, let go!" James insisted, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wouldn't lose track of Lily. "I'm really busy at the moment!"

"Okay, it'll only take a second," Peter agreed with a slight slur. "I just wanted to thank you for distracting Lily for us while we got this party _really_ going!"

Peter had James's attention now.

"WHAT!" The alarm sprang into James's voice. He shot a helpless look back at Lily, who was more than aware that most of Gryffindor was fairly inebriated. She turned accusingly towards James with a demanding expression.

"What's going on here?" Lily was completely irritable. James could only shake his head in reply. It was then that Sirius approached the three.

"Uh-oh!" Sirius laughed as he saw Lily. "Guess we'll be calling things quits then."

"Your handiwork, Black?" Lily stated coldly. She was completely emotionally drained from James, and the last thing she needed was to try to get a bunch of drunken teenagers back under control.

"Peter helped!" Sirius said defensively.

"And what a help he was," Lily spat before addressing the rest of the Gryffindors. "Alright, party's over! Stagger back to your beds right this instance before I'm liable to take the pillows off them and smother the lot of you!"

The sober members of the House groaned and did what their Prefect said as quickly and as disgruntled as they could. Those who were drunk took a little longer to begin clearing out. Sirius made a face at Lily.

"_Well_,_ thank you_ _very much_," Sirius commented sarcastically. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Brought it on yourselves, I'm afraid," Lily informed.

"Whatever," Peter rolled his eyes, before turning to James. "You couldn't have kept her busy any longer than this?"

"Oh no." James felt the blood drain from his face as panic seized him.

"Kept me busy?" Lily repeated quietly as she faced James.

"Yeah," Sirius, who was more than an obnoxious drunk, affirmed. "We had to figure out _something_ to get you out of here long enough to have a little fun. You need to loosen up, Lily, you'll live longer."

"Lily, I had no idea," James pleaded as he tried to pull himself out of Peter's grip. "I didn't even know they were plotting all this!"

Lily could only stare at James as she felt the tears run down her face. All his talk about his loyalty to friends, how he was so desperate to keep her there with him, it was all a means to an end.

He had even said he loved her.

"Nicely played, James," Lily croaked as she ran off toward the Fat Lady Portrait. She could hear James calling after her, apparently still struggling to get out from under Peter's grip. Stepping through the threshold to the dormitories, Lily turned, tear streaked, to the Fat Lady Portrait.

"No one is to leave the dorms unless it's morning or an emergency, whichever comes first," Lily told the plump woman guarding the doorway. "The password for tonight is 'Two Months'."

"Well, alright," the Fat Lady shrugged.

"Goodnight then," Lily said as she sprinted out into the school just after ten.

"Oh man. I made Lily cry," Sirius frowned, sincerely upset. "I'm such a prat."

"You don't even know the _half_ of it!" James hissed through his teeth as he wrenched out of Peter's hand and raced over to the portrait. After arguing for five minutes with the Fat Lady to let him out, James realized that there was no way he would be leaving the dorms that night and stormed over to his friends.

"Why did you tell her all that?" James demanded.

"Because it's true," Peter apologetically shrugged. "Moony sent her up after you so we could pass the bottle around a bit. We thought the most it would do was irk her. Didn't mean to make her cry."

James collapsed into the nearest chair. He felt sick. He had done a fine enough job driving Lily off because he was so insistent upon protecting the wankers he called friends, only to have them convince her that everything he had said and done was only a diversion.

"What's wrong, Prongs?" Sirius sat on the arm of James's chair and put a hand on his shoulder. "She's mad at us this time, not you."

James threw Sirius's hand off him and gripped onto him with his own.

"You dumb bastard," James spat. "I'm _in love_ with her! I told her that and now, because you and Peter had to pull this _brilliant_ stunt of yours, she thinks everything I confessed was one big lie!"

"No James, you're confused, _Padfoot's_ in love with her," Peter corrected helpfully.

"No, Sirius just wanted something he couldn't have," James replied. "And he had to take me down with him."

James released Sirius and turned back toward the dormitory stairs. He was too afraid of what more he would say or do to his friends if he remained amongst them any longer.

Breaking into Lily's room once more, James paced the floorboards, sitting down occasionally only to get back up again. He was determined to spend the entire night waiting for Lily to come back if that's what it took to explain things to her. He wouldn't leave until she listened, until she believed him.

Distraught was an understatement for James Potter.

After some aimless wandering around the castle, Lily found herself in the Prefects' bathroom (which was a modest way to describe the spa-like accommodations). She laid, defeated and depressed, on one of the couches in the plush lounge right near the entrance, sniffling back the tears she had been crying for hours. Lily felt stupid and used, vowing never to forgive James and his friends for their cruel prank on her. Those were the good moments for Lily.

The bad ones were when she remembered the kiss.

Sighing, Lily turned over on the couch so she was facing into a cushion. She didn't even have the strength to cry anymore. Lily debated going back to her room and trying to sleep for the night, but didn't want to chance it. She was certain James would try to confront her, try to persuade her into believing him like she most desperately wanted to. She couldn't put herself through that right now and decided she would just fall asleep on the couch she was presently occupying and sort through the shambles of her life in the morning.

Lily was so busy feeling sorry for herself, she wasn't aware that Severus Snape had been peering down at her with quizzically narrowed eyed. "What are you doing here, Evans?"

The meager amount of sympathy lacing his voice was the best, Lily guessed, he could muster, considering it was Snape. She glanced at him over her shoulder. His hair was damp and there was a slight flush to his usual pallor. She gathered he had just finished with a bath.

"Celebrating a fabulous Gryffindor victory," Lily muttered sarcastically.

"Always thought your House was odd," Snape replied. Lily didn't know if she was up to talking with Snape and had hoped he would have taken her comment as a request to leave. Apparently, it just invited more of his typical dry banter.

"Though it's against all my better judgment to ask, what's wrong?" Snape's voice was hushed.

Lily was tempted to try and unburden herself. She figured if anyone could understand how bad James and his friends were capable of being it would be Severus, but she decided against it, as Lily doubted either she or Snape would be very comfortable with the idea of her crying in front of him.

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you," Lily sighed. Snape nodded.

"Just as well. I'm not all that accustom to dealing with sobbing women anyway," Snape shrugged. "Come now, I'll escort you to your dormitory."

"No, I'll be staying here for the evening," Lily disagreed as she settled into the couch deeper.

"That serious then?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "You're House _must_ be in a sad state if they can drive their Prefect out on a rail."

"As thoroughly enlightening as your evaluations of my service as a Prefect is, Severus, I'm afraid my ability to take most things graciously is completely exhausted for the evening," Lily grumbled curtly. Snape sounded as though he had just snorted some air through his nose in frustration.

"Alright, enough of this foolishness, Evans, on your feet," Snape ordered. Lily rolled over to glare at him.

"Pardon me?" Lily's eyes were as cold as his voice.

"You. Heard. Me." Snape replied, making it clear that if anyone would be doing the intimidating in this conversation it would be him. "You are in for quite a disappointment if you think I'm going to allow you to spend the remainder of the night mopping on a sofa in the Prefect bathroom. Now I strongly suggest you pull yourself together enough to follow me before I have to embarrass the both of us and drag you along."

Gathering from Snape's expression that he had every intention of doing just as he had threatened, Lily pulled herself into a seated position and then to her feet with an unhappy sigh. Snape nodded approvingly and led the way out.

Deflating at the thought of having to go back to her dorm and face James, Lily allowed Snape to lead her through the castle, staring more at her feet than where she was going. It took her a few minutes to realize that they were nowhere in the vicinity of Gryffindor tower.

"Where are we going?" Lily pressed. Snape stopped walking to face her.

"To my quarters," he replied ambiguously. "You expressed little interest in returning to your own room and I'm not about to let you try what respect you've earned from me by hiding in the bathroom like a sobbing school girl."

"But I _an_ a sobbing school girl," Lily observed with a humorless laugh.

"If that's all the credit you care to give yourself," Snape stated aloofly. "If you'd like to go back to your own room that's fine."

"No," Lily resisted quickly.

Even if it was only for a while, Lily decided she'd rather stay with Snape than contend with James. As condescending as Snape could be, Lily would much rather handle that than allow her emotions to be manipulated any further.

"Very well." Snape returned to walking.

Led into the dungeons of the castle, Lily observed the uninviting surroundings and wondered how the Slytherins could stand to live in an area so barren of all feeling or depth. Lily guessed that if most of the Slytherin were half like Severus, such thoughts probably never crossed their minds when they entered the bowels of Hogwarts. Stopping in front of a door, Snape removed his wand and performed a gesture. An audible click echoed through the corridor. Snape gave a hesitant glance to Lily before he sighed and opened his mouth to recite the password.

"Fluffywig." Another loud click.

Lily snorted a laugh and Snape appeared to be startled by the noise. He rolled his eyes as Lily's lit up slightly.

"'Fluffywig'?" Lily questioned in an amused voice that Snape in no way shared.

"Passwords are for security, Evans," Snape informed in a cross, but flustered voice. "I think you have just proven my point that no one would suspect _that_ to be the access phrase to my room." Snape removed a key with a coiled serpent for a handle and inserted it into the lock.

"Paranoid a bit?" Lily observing the third measure Snape employed to secure his room.

"It breeds longevity overall, Evans," Snape informed. "I, for one, don't have problems with people spying on me." That sentence cut into Lily.

"I think I'm just envious is all," Lily muttered.

Snape opened the door and stepped aside to allow her in. Taking a quick survey of the quarters, Lily noticed almost every spare inch of space contained potion supplies and equipment. Several cauldrons were in a low simmer. A slight haze blanketed the air and the various odors of the potions brewing were suppressed under the thick scent of incense. Although containing far more items in it, Lily decided that Snape's room was kept in an even more immaculate order than her own.

Gesturing toward a bed for her to sit upon, Snape busied himself with some vials set up on the top of his desk. Judging from the perfect condition of his bed, Lily had to wonder if Snape had even slept in it once all term as she sat down.

"So what exactly do you do in here?" Lily glanced around. She couldn't imagine what use he'd have for making all these different potions.

"Occupy my time," Snape stated simply enough as he exchanged the fluid in one beaker to another before bringing it over to Lily and holding it out for her. "Here's something that should ease your hysterics."

Lily wondered how Snape always managed to be ever the charmer. Eyeing the crystal container suspiciously, Lily turned her gaze toward Snape.

"What is it, exactly?" Lily wondered aloud.

"A Placid Potion we learned during 4th Year," Snape informed. Lily still made no move to take the drink from him. Growing irritable, a sarcastic sneer forced itself over Snape's face. "As tempting as it may be to sedate and violate you, Evans, I suppose I'll just have to restrain myself. Otherwise I wouldn't be further privy to your vivid assassinations of my character."

Embarrassed, Lily accepted the vial and drank it in a single swallow before handing it back to Snape.

"My apologies," Lily sighed sincerely.

"Considering how distraught you are, I'll turn a blind eye," Snape nodded as he rinsed the vial in a small sink and took a chair on an angle from Lily.

"I shouldn't be burdening you like this." Lily averted her eyes. "It's unfair."

"There are a great many things in this life, Evans, that are unfair. This falls somewhere short of an inconvenience," Snape replied directly.

"Well, it's just so late," Lily observed.

"I rarely sleep," Snape assured. "I'd have either studied or dabbled in here if I hadn't come across you."

"Oh, but then you wouldn't have been able to catch me at my absolute worst," Lily said as she pulled her hair behind her shoulders.

"If you must appease your ego, you're typically stunning," Snape informed. As tactless and harsh as Severus could be, Lily derived a certain amount of comfort from Snape's slant on social etiquette. At least she was always assured he was honest. "I very much doubt you came upon your presently disheveled state without some form of assistance." He raised his eyebrows, curious to see how she would reply.

"So, what's going on with professional Quidditch these days?" Lily deflected. Snape took this as a hint that the topic was closed.

"I hear the Cannons have fair odds at the cup," Snape updated.

Snape and Lily talked for hours until her responses grew infrequent and her eyelids heavy. Around three in the morning she had nodded off on the top of Snape's bed. Abandoning her beneath a spare blanket, Snape reviewed his notes from History of Magic and ignored Lily for the remainder of the evening.

A little after dawn, James left Lily's room, closing the door behind him. After waiting for Lily to return for over eight hours, a tired and broken James needed to take a break. Still in his Quidditch uniform, James was resolved to take a shower and do some serious thinking for a couple of hours. Hopefully Lily would be at breakfast in the Great Hall and hopefully she would listen. He would spend the entire day trying to make her listen because that night he and the other Marauders would be leaving for the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade to be with Remus.

After a night spent mostly brooding (since there was little else to do), James was committed to still being cross with Sirius, Peter, and Remus for what they had done to him. However, since it was an unwitting sabotage of his chances with Lily, James felt it wasn't worth the price of their overall friendships together. In the end, the other Marauders were merely fortunate that James valued the philosophy of saving any true animosity or resentment for those who deliberately acted in malice. Still, James felt he reserved the right to be more than pissed for the next few days or until they produced a proper apology.

James was about to enter into the bedroom he shared with his friends for a shower before he remembered his letter to Frank Longbottom. With everything that had happened last night and all James expected to be dealing with over the next few days, he figured it could be a week before he would actually get around to composing a decent letter. With a worn sigh, James made his way up to the attic where he had left his stationary supplies and put some fresh ink on his quill. James recalled how he had needed that one sincere thing in his life to be able to string all the other events in it together and now felt as though he had found it. With a sheet of parchment before him, James wrote.

_Dear Frank and everyone:  
_

_I know you all must be curious as to what has become of the last of the Potter line in recent days so I'll take the time to update you now. We had our first of hopefully many victories for the Quidditch season against Slytherin yesterday, which I am still team captain of. Although I'm at the top of my class in virtually every subject, Transfiguration is the one I excel at most and Defense Against the Dark Arts remains my favorite._

_Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew continue to be my best friends after five years and more than one trying of my patience. I have discovered most recently that friendship is more than just good times and shared laughs and is nothing without forgiveness and honesty. While I've more than taken advantage of the former, I've found that the latter part of these stipulations a hard lesson to learn._

_I started this summer with a fear that a gap would grow in the relationship between my best friend and myself. I was distraught with the idea that someone would come along and start to push Sirius from my life and to my dismay I found I was absolutely justified in my concern. I had pushed Sirius away. What is it about growing up that makes it impossible to confide in those closest to you? Is it because we gradually accumulate more and darker secrets or that we believe we're the only ones who are burdened by them? What rift that has appeared between Sirius and I can only be described with the proverbs of "no good deed goes unpunished" and "the road to Hell is paved in good intention," because that was what had been on my mind as of late: how to do right by my friend. The thing I failed to realize was that the best thing I could have done as a friend to Sirius was allow him to be a friend to me. In time, I will remedy this situation, but only after I can find the strength and the heart to sincerely want to._

_As for your post script, Frank, there is someone special in my life presently; however, I appear to be afflicted by the grievous curse upon the men of my family that my father once described:_

_We're bloody idiots when it comes to women._

_When I was about twelve and had just finished telling my dad about this redheaded girl I had been teasing all year during my 1st year at Hogwarts, he enlightened me as to how all the Potter men have this uncanny ability to be horrible prats and behave in the complete opposite of how they should once a lady catches their eye. He preceded to explain how, when courting my mother, he had somehow worked it into his mind that dating her sister while tormenting her all hours was the fastest means to win her affections. I remember thinking how much of a moron my father was for acting so insanely stupid in front of the woman he supposedly adored and found it miraculous I had even been born. Of course, this was from a mind that would, four years later, consider questionable uses of family heirlooms and dropping crates of lit firecrackers upon his love's head lost arts of romance._

_Good to know us Potters are men of tradition, eh?_

_Yes, I'm in love and she's wonderful in every way imaginable. She's been described to have the beauty of a veela, the wisdom of a sphinx, and Charms beyond anything magic has yet to produce. She is my equal, and not because we share all these perfectly similar qualities, but because she challenges me and forces me to constantly decide who I am and what life James Potter should be making for himself. She is my missing half, not for all the reasons we are the same but for every last reason we are different. Every last part of my character I have either neglected or done without, she embodies and simply being around her makes me a better man. Sadly, through misunderstandings and sheer blunders on my part, she isn't speaking to me and I feel possibly more lost to this world than ever in my life._

_After all, how can we ever go back to being half a person once we've finally been made whole?_

_As I conclude my letter, I'll recall something my mother rationalized for me when I told her what my father had explained of their earliest steps in love. She said that while the things my father had done would be more than enough to drive any sane woman off, the measures and extremes he took to fix everything he had done was more than enough to lure any sane woman back. She told me Potters were born under a bad sign in respects to dating but were truly blessed when it came time to find their true loves. She assured me I would act the fool and feel twice as dumb over a woman once in my life, and she would be the one I would love forever. What should comfort me, she had said, is it wouldn't be true love if it were any other way. The only thing I can quote directly of both my mother and father is this:_

_"The only way a Potter can love someone is through 'Deperire': to be hopelessly in love with them."_

_The person I love is difficult, stubborn, emotional, and is the only person I'm willing to wait up for all night just so she can yell at me some more. I'd wash my hands of all this if I wasn't sure that when she's not too busy hating me, she loves me too. Thankfully and tragically, I have fallen hopelessly in love with Lily Evans._

_I suppose I'll have to do something about that, then._

Deperire, 

_James Potter_


	10. The Opposition

The Opposition

By: Oy! Angelina

After returning from the owlry to send out Frank's letter (and taking a quick look about for Lily), James finally entered the boys' dormitory and headed to his room. James noticed Remus's bed appeared to be as vacant and unused as his own and recalled not seeing him after his visit to the attic. Sirius and Peter were each sprawled across their beds fully clothed and completely unconscious in the wake of their binge drinking. Resisting the urge to kick both Padfoot and Wormtail, James gathered up a fresh change of clothes and made his way to the bathroom.

He found Remus in there shaving out of formality.

"Don't you look good." Remus commented sarcastically as he swished the razor blade under the pool of water at the bottom of the sink.

James said nothing as he threw his things over by the showers and angrily began to brush his teeth. Remus had been spared his emotional outburst with Sirius and Peter last night because he had been off doing whatever it was he had done all night. His ignorance of the reason behind James's foul mood only added fuel to the fire as far as James was concerned.

Remus took another glance at James before a questioning expression overtook his face.

"James, tell me something." Remus started. "If you weren't in your bed all night and you're wearing the same thing you were yesterday, where were you?"

"Lily's room." James grunted through his teeth with his toothbrush between them. Remus jerked, drawing a little blood from his cheek. Spinning on heel, he turned to his friend, wide eyed."

"James!" Remus gasped, half shocked, half impressed.

James spit out into the sink and glared at Remus.

"Oh, THAT'S what you think happened?" James chuckled with a humorless laugh. "Hmm, well possibly something along those lines may have transpired if a certain set of extraneous variables hadn't seen fit to introduce themselves into the equations. We'll call them Moony, Padfoot, and Wormtail for sake of reference."

Remus stared at James with a more than perturbed expression.

"What are you going on about, James?" Remus put his razor down and certainly of his friend's reach.

"So, which of you geniuses decided that I would make for an excellent DISTRACTION of Lily?" James asked pointedly. Remus went pale and felt his gaze advert to the side. James nodded.

"Ah." James resumed brushing his teeth.

"What happened, James?" Remus pressed. James spat out into the sink again, this time with a little blood from how furiously he'd been brushing.

"Sirius and Peter told Lily that I was supposed to distract her while they got half of Gryffindor drunk." James hissed. "You'll be pleased to know she's back to hating me. This time, she has a pretty good reason behind it."

Remus splashed some cold water on his face, rinsing off the lather and sending a shock to his system. Sighing, he looked back at James half drenched.

"Why would this make me happy?" Remus groaned. "Yes, it was technically my idea, I suggested that Lily go up and find you, but not on Sirius and Peter's behalf. I thought that if the two of you got yourselves alone for a bit maybe you'd come to whatever understanding you appeared to be on the verge of. It just happened to benefit our other friends as well if she was out of the common room."

"So you didn't send Lily up there just so Sirius and Peter could get the House smashed?" James asked flat out.

"I knew they were plotting something to the effect." Remus shrugged apologetically as he stared at his feet. "I figured I'd be helping all my friends with one stone. If I had known something this bad would have amounted from it, I wouldn't have done a thing, James. You know that."

James judged Remus's expression with hard eyes. Making a quick evaluation of Remus's overall character, James decided he was probably being sincere.

"Yeah, I know." James sighed as he finished up brushing. Remus put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll talk to Lily, explain everything away." Remus informed. "This is my fault, no reason you should take the blame for any of it."

James shook his head as he wiped his mouth.

"I don't think it's quite that simple." James replied. "You'd only be solving half a problem for me."

"What HAPPENED James." Remus asked a second time, hoping he'd get a better account of what he had missed last night. James leaned against the sink and hung his head awkwardly.

"I kissed Lily. . . she kissed me too." James explained and Remus's eyes went wide but said nothing to interrupt. "We were getting along SO WELL but then I decided that I couldn't trust Lily as far as I could pitch her Prefect badge and threw up a wall between us. I realized I was a prat for it and was about to try and fix it as best I could when Sirius and Peter had to start blabbing about how I was some sort of a diversion. Lily thought everything between us was a lie. . .especially the part when I said I loved her."

Remus was blown away by all this and needed to lean on the sink as well.

"Wow." Remus breathed before looking at James. "Did you tell them?"

"Screamed it, more appropriately." James nodded. "I'm not really on speaking terms with our other friends at the moment. They were wankers but they didn't know what they were doing. I'll get around to forgiving them, I suppose."

"How about me?" Remus questioned without looking at James.

"You apologized and feel terrible for about. I can't ask more from you, can I?" James shrugged before his gave Remus a cock-eyed expression. "So how come YOU weren't in bed last night?" Remus rolled his eyes.

"Well my evening fell just above yours." Remus reported bitterly. "I got to hold Arabella's golden locks while she regurgitated her own body weight off that swill Sirius and Peter concocted and she was one of the luckier ones! I must have made liters of Pepper-up Potion just to keep our friends out of trouble, well assuming Lily doesn't turn us all over to McGonagall anyway. Frankly, they deserve no less."

It was then that Sirius staggered into the bathroom to shove his head under a sink and let the water wash over his head. Looking very much like hell, James would have felt sorry for his best friend under different circumstances. Pulling his soaked shoulder length hair from the sink, Sirius studied his friends with two accusing, bloodshot eyes.

"Could you guys keep it down?" Sirius requested curtly. "Some of us are waiting for the sweet release of death."

"Well the line starts somewhere behind me." James glared as Sirius.

"Well aren't WE in a mood." Sirius observed, apparently in one all his own.

"No thanks to you and Peter." Remus snorted.

"Oh, now you're going to start on me to." Sirius grunted. Remus and James exchanged irritable looks before they resumed glowering at Sirius.

"Of course I am." Remus's eyes flashed. "Arabella and half of Gryffindor spent the night sick as dogs because you and Peter are cheeky prats."

"Yeah well, I feel their pain." Sirius grumbled in self-pity.

"I could arrange for you to feel some new pain." James offered with narrowed eyes. "Because of the BRILLIANT mess you and Wormtail made for me, Lily refused to even come back to the dorms last night."

Already sour and glaring, Sirius somehow managed to make his face turn darker as he stared at James.

"You know, I think I reserve more than a little right to be upset too, considering my best friend decided to announce he was in love with the girl I've been pining for." Sirius informed with a growl. "I can't knock your taste in women, Prongs, but you couldn't have picked, oh let's say ANY OTHER GIRL TO DECLARE YOUR UNDYING LOVE TO?"

"I assure you, Sirius, if my position was a simple as you just described, we wouldn't even be bothering with this conversation." James frowned. "I've done nothing but try to respect you feelings for Lily since you've made them clear . . ."

"Oh trust me, it REALLY shows!" Sirius interrupted sarcastically.

"Don't be thick, Padfoot!" Remus jumped in. "James has been holding his tongue on the matter for months because he's so bloody loyal to you but you've been so caught up in yourself and your crush on Lily that you couldn't even catch on!"

"Nice to know which side of the fence you're leaning on, Moony." Sirius observed.

"Oh this isn't a matter of sides." Remus corrected. "You both should have had this conversation a long time ago; it's just a pity it had to come out in the open like this."

Sirius shifted his glare from Remus over to James.

"You know damn well how I feel about Lily Evans and how hard I've been trying to get into her good graces." Sirius said through his teeth. "This isn't some spot on the Quidditch team, PRONGS! I'm not going to be able to just wish you luck if you steal her out from under me!"

"And this isn't like calling the last bottle of butterbeer either, PADFOOT!" James insisted. "Just because you spoke up first doesn't make it the final word on the subject!"

"I don't want to compete with my BEST FRIEND over this." Sirius's voice was mixed between a warning and a plea. James sighed as he ran his hands through his hair, not taking his eyes off Sirius.

"Neither do I, Sirius." James felt his expression soften a bit. "But the only way that's going to happen is if you back down. Because I'm not."

"Because you can't or you won't?" Sirius asked as though it made a difference."

"I can't." James stated.

Sirius nodded as though this were the better of the two responses but still gave James a pointed look.

"And what makes you so sure I'm the one who should wash his hands of this?" Sirius demanded.

James took a deep breath before locking eyes with his friend.

"Because Lily kissed me." James admitted.

Sirius was struck with utter disbelief at this admission.

"BLOODY HELL, JAMES!" Sirius roared, furious. He pointed his finger at James as though it were a weapon. "I can't even LOOK at you right now!"

Sirius's head jerked towards Remus, who was privy to the same hostility as James.

"And what's YOUR position on the topic?" Sirius affirmed pointedly. "You condone this sort of backstabbing?"

Remus crossed his arms, angry that Sirius was turning this into a side's issue. The thing Remus had most wanted to avoid since he figured James and Sirius had feelings for the same girl was unfolding right before him and it was uglier than he could ever have anticipated. Still, Sirius had asked his stance and Remus felt obligated to reply.

"I stand by you should talk about this reasonably and come to the proper decision as friends should." Remus was tightlipped as he spoke.

"Which would be. . .?" Sirius baited.

"Fine." Remus determined there was little sense in sugar-coating the matter. "I think you should bow out in favor of James. I believe he's more sincere about his feelings for Lily and, most important, Lily seems to share them."

Sirius stared at James and Remus as though they had both teamed-up to slap him in the face. Roused by all the shouting, Peter poked his head into the bathroom, sweaty with rings under his eyes. He stared at his fellow Marauders and they observed his presence as well.

"What's going on in here?" Peter croaked out, almost afraid to ask.

"We appear to be picking sides because SOMEONE insists on being petty." Remus glared at Sirius.

"Umm. . .then whose side am I on?" Peter asked.

"Mine by default." Sirius informed since Remus appeared to be firmly rooted in James's camp and Peter had been apt to help him as of late.

"Do I have to?" Peter whined as he surveyed the room. "I mean I'm getting the distinct impression that I don't want to be."

"Well, I'll let you work that out for yourselves." James decided as he headed off to the showers. The other three boys busied themselves as best they could to get dressed for the day and packed for that evening without a word to one another.

It was near seven in the morning when Lily awoke. She felt by no means better than she had before falling asleep but felt slightly more refreshed all things considering. Blinking and slightly stretching, Lily realized where she was and felt more than embarrassed for nodding off in Snape's room. Acknowledging Lily's stirring, Snape closed a book in front of him and redirected his attention toward his guest.

"I'm sorry, Severus, I didn't realize I had fallen asleep." Lily hoped he didn't think she found him boring company because she had dozed off in mid conversation.

"You shouldn't apologize so readily." Snape advised. "It gives people the impression you're either inept or lack control over your own actions."

Good morning to you too. Lily thought as she sat up. Not certain if she wanted to be exposed to unadulterated Snape first thing in the morning, Lily rose and folded the blanket she had been under.

"Well, in any case, thank you for putting me up for the evening." Lily offered. "I really do appreciate it; however, I think I should head off to the Prefects bathroom and see if I left a change of clothes there."

"I'll escort you." Snape offered as he gathered a few books in hand. "I meant to return these to the library today and it's along my way."

Lily and Snape exited his room after checking to see if anyone was in the passageway first. Not only was it completely inappropriate for a male and female student to share quarters throughout the night (even if it was merely platonic and they were both Prefects) but it was also against school rules. That and Lily cringed at what fabricated accounts the school's rumor mill would undoubtedly produce. Snape had just finished locking his door when a couple Slytherin 1st Years came upon the scene. They glanced from their Prefect, to Lily, then to one another. Lily turned slightly so they wouldn't see her blush as she tried not to think about what they were probably assuming.

"I'll have to ask you to go on without me, Evans. It appears I'm about to be detained." Snape said under his breath, as his demeanor quickly became one of ice. Lily started to walk in the opposite direction; cognitive of what ugly scene was about to unfold.

Stalking over to his now nervous looking charges, Snape loomed over the eleven year olds like a dark omen. If the sight of their sneering Prefect wasn't enough to thoroughly intimidate the two Slytherin, the knowledge that Snape knew more hexes coming into Hogwarts and most students did coming out certainly did.

"If you were asked to recall anything interesting this morning, your replies would be. . .?" Snape eyes shifted over the two like a black pendulum.

"Nothing." The evidently bolder of the two choked out.

"How perceptive of you." Snape observed. "After all, who has the time to discuss a school Prefect's personal affairs when the Forbidden Forest is being searched from weed to werewolf for the remains of two unfortunately curious 1st Year students?

The two Slytherins were paler than Snape had ever managed. Snape arm swept out of his robes, causing the 1st Years to recoil in fright as he gestured down the hall.

"You. Are. Excused." Snape hissed and the two Slytherins needed no further invitation. A faint grin tugged at Snape's lips as he made his way to the library.

Navigating their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, Peter had an intense headache that he wasn't sure he could attribute exclusive to his hangover in good conscious. Sirius had just got done explaining the situation to him and though shocked by everything he had heard, the last thing Peter wanted was to be warring with half his best friends.

"I say we all sit down with a large stack of pancakes and work out our differences as mates." Peter voted without Sirius even asking his opinion on the matter. Making a disgruntled noise, Sirius glared down at Peter.

"After what I just told you?" Sirius exclaimed. "How do you expect me to just turn my cheek to all this?"

"I was kind of hoping graciously. . ." Peter admitted pathetically. "We shouldn't be fighting like this! Come on Sirius, be the bigger man. Be happy for James, if he's truly your best friend like you claim him to be."

"You think James has been acting like a friend to me?" Sirius demanded.

"I think James has been acting like a loon lately, personally!" Peter replied. "In the very least he hasn't been himself. Ask yourself, Padfoot, what else could be ruffling our James's feathers so much unless he was really in love? Can you honestly say that Lily's had the same effect over YOU?"

Peter didn't know if that was the right thing so say and Sirius's grim silence as they entered the Great Hall did little to ease his mind. Dragging themselves over to the Gryffindor House table, the two boys found James and Remus already there and eating.

Sirius and James sat on a diagonal from one another and refused to make eye contact. Both Peter and Sirius helped themselves to some dry toast and unsweetened tea. They seemed to be positively exhausted, nauseous, and winced at the slightest elevation in noise

James hoped it was actually more horrible than it looked.

"Um, so are you guys not talking to me as well?" Peter stole a wary glance of Remus as he mumbled under his breath.

"For the time being, Peter." Remus affirmed while wolfing down his eggs.

"Because I'm with Sirius now?" Peter hesitantly questioned.

"Nooo, because you were with Sirius LAST NIGHT." Remus corrected. "You damn near poisoned half of Gryffindor with your wretched mixture."

"Oh that!" Peter said almost brightly since his friends had a legitimate cause to be cross with him. "Do I have to apologize for that? I mean it's the only decent thing I've ever brewed in Potions."

"There was nothing decent about the foul mix." Remus informed with a haunted expression as he recalled the evening before. "And most certainly not when it's working its way back up. . ."

James had been ignoring the fraternizing of sides since he was only moderately angry with Peter all things considering. He was about to butter his second helping of toast when he saw Lily enter into the Great Hall. She scanned the table, evidently to see if James was seated there. When she caught him looking at her, Lily turned on her heel and marched right back out the Great Hall.

"Wait. . .HOLD ON THERE!" James called out as he jumped up on and over the breakfast table, flipping a plate of eggs and bacon onto Remus as he vaulted. James didn't look back as he sprinted toward the doorway in spite of Professor McGonagall and some other members of the faculty calling after him.

As Remus picked off the clumps of food in front of a snickering Sirius, Peter and couple other Gryffindors, he chuckled humorlessly as he ground his teeth.

"He had BETTER be in love!" Remus muttered irritably before turning his eyes on Peter and Sirius. "That funny to you two?"

"Just a bit." Sirius nodded with a smug expression.

"I think I just found my new thought for the Patronus Charm." Peter grinned.

Remus smiled as he pulled two sterling plates to him and slammed them together like cymbals between Sirius and Peter's ears. The loud clang emitted throughout the dinning hall and undoubtedly complicated Sirius and Peter's splitting headaches. Miserable and wincing, Peter and Sirius were glowering at Remus most unappreciatively.

"I think that will serve well as mine!" Remus announced as he placed the plates down with a satisfied smirk.

The sound of a clearing throat drew the eyes of the three boys as they noticed a most displeased Professor McGonagall peering down at them from over her spectacles.

"I hope there is most assuredly an inventive reason behind this choice in dinning etiquette for several 6th Year students." Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely." Sirius agreed in an awkward but respectful tone. "Could I request a brief meeting of the minds so we can work out something plausible?"

McGonagall kept her lips tightly pressed together, but a flicker of amusement caught her eye. Of all the Hogwarts students she had come to reprimand and discipline over her years as Deputy Headmistress, few had so numerously warranted (never mind entertained) her as much as these four Gryffindor boys.

"A reasonable request, Mr. Black." McGonagall beckoned for the three boys of her House to rise and follow her. "Let us find our Mr. Potter since I trust you'll be wanting his input on the matter."

All exhaling, the three boys abandoned their place at the table and expected the usual earful in McGonagall's office.

James had caught up to Lily just outside the Hall. To her credit, Lily attempted to move past James as deliberately as she could but the Quidditch Chaser proved that he wasn't only quick on his broom. Unable to sidestep him, Lily burned her green eyes into James as she faced him.

"What?" Lily demanded curtly. Figuring she wouldn't give him much of an opportunity to speak, assuming she did at all, James went straight into his explanation.

"I waited all night in your room just for the chance to talk to you." James blurted out. Lily made a disapproving face as she rolled her eyes.

"You've certainly begun to make yourself comfortable in there, haven't you?" Lily commented dryly, her expression looked as though it were carved from stone. James was disappointed at the direction this was taken. "So what did you want? To plead upon your friends' behalf so I wouldn't turn the lot of you in for your abysmal behavior?"

"I don't care about any of that." James replied, shaking his head. "You do whatever you need to do, Lily. Sirius and Peter were prats for doing it and Remus and I should have put our foots down when we suspected they were up to something."

"I knew YOU'D understand my position as a Prefect, James." Lily nodded curtly as she started to walk off, but James blocked her way once more.

"This isn't what I wanted to talk about, Lily." James pleaded.

"We'll this is the only conversation you're getting." Lily informed with a hiss. "After how you and your friends embarrassed me, don't you expect any sudden courtesies!"

"That's what I want to talk about!" James breathed. "There are things that happened last night that I most sincerely regret, but not all of them are my fault! I can't just go about my normal life if I don't clear some of the air between us first. All I'm asking is for you to hear me out and then you can go back to hating me if that's what you want to do."

"Oh there's a surprise. James Potter wants things on HIS terms." Lily sarcastically observed. "Considering what you got off me last night, you'll forgive me if I have little desire to give you any further satisfaction."

Lily brushed past James as she headed up the main corridor. Hearing her footsteps echo against the stone, James closed his eyes to take a breath and compose himself. He didn't want to risk loosing his temper and Lily certainly wasn't making that any small feet for him to accomplish. Still, he couldn't relent until Lily knew the truth about last night and from there. . .well, James would just have to see when he got there.

Just as he felt he was prepared to head back into the fray, a dry and cold voice lashed out behind James.

"Well isn't that interesting?"

Although it was completely superfluous, James turned to confirm the owner of the voice was, in fact, Snape. He held his hands behind his back. James didn't like the idea of not being able to see what was up Snape's sleeve.

"I had initially assumed Black was the one responsible for Evans' emotional unrest." Snape mused as he took a step toward James. "Rather foolish of me in hindsight considering this whole situation bares the stench of your awkward touch, Potter."

"As much as I'd treasure dating tips from Severus Snape: The Casanova of Hogwarts, I'll somehow manage on my own." James quipped with narrowed eyes. Snape was seemed a little too amused by all this for James liking and was suspicious of what prompted such confidence.

"Oh I think you could stand to take a pointer or two from me, Potter." Snape disagreed with a cruel smile. James had no idea what the hell Snape was talking about but didn't like what he was alluding to.

"Something on you mind, Snape or, more appropriately, on the tip of your forked tongue?" James demanded. "As you may have noticed, I'm a little to preoccupied to deal with your game of innuendos."

Snape sneered before tilting his head at James.

"Come now, Potter. Where's the sport in that?" Snape questioned.

"If there's anything in particular that you're looking to unburden yourself of, Snape, out with it!" James snapped irritably. He knew that shouting out meant he losing this game with Snape, but James was much too tired and high strung to care at this point.

"As much as I'd love to see the expression on your face after such a revelation, I'm afraid there are reputations to be maintained here." Snape chided in a mocking tone. James was about to spit out a particularly nasty retort when a stern voice from behind caused him to go rigid.

"James Potter!" Professor McGonagall called to him with the remaining Marauders in toe. James sighed as the Head of his House more than put an end to his exchange with Snape.

"Looks like I'm done with your mind games for today, Snape." James informed under his breath as he headed toward the deputy Headmistress. "See you in Potions then."

"Very well." Snape smugly relented. "If you happen to misplace me, Potter, just look for where Lily Evans is seated."

James nearly missed a step at that last jibe but refused to give Snape the satisfaction. As he allowed McGonagall to whisk him and his friends down the hall, James entertained fantasies of what he would have said or done to Snape in her absence. For his part, Snape entered the Great Hall, reveling in his guilty pleasure with a satisfied expression.

After a twenty-minute lecture on proper conduct (which was practically a social call considering the usual reasons the Marauders were typically called before McGonagall to discuss), the four boys were assigned to cleaning the Transfiguration room as well as the cages and animals within. All of this was meant to teach the Gryffindors that every mess made required someone to clean it up and all of this was conducted under Professor McGonagall's watchful eye in between her preparations for tomorrow's lesson. Although it had not been specified, the boys worked in silence. Just before noon, Professor McGonagall dismissed the Marauders from their service to her with the parting observation of:

"My, I don't believe you four have ever been this silent in my presence!"

Peter and Sirius directed themselves toward the Great Hall for lunch, as they had eaten very little that morning and had their appetites return under their labor. James asked Remus to check and see if Lily was in the Gryffindor common room, while he searched to see if she happened to be in the library, to which he agreed. After spending nearly half an hour investigating Lily's usual haunts, James worked his way back to Gryffindor tower where he found Remus studying his Defense Against the Dark Arts text on a couch with some younger Year students milling about.

"She's not here, mate." Remus reported. James nodded and took a chair across from his friend.

"Didn't find here either." James sighed.

"She'll turn up." Remus assured. "Arabella's still under the weather."

"Paid her a visit, hmm?" James asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, poor girl is bed ridded." Remus explained. "I left her with a pot of tea for when she's up to it. She's perks up every so often when she starts wishing ill on Sirius and Peter's heads."

"Don't we all?" James leaned into his hand.

"I think it would bring her a little more cheer if you stopped in for a visit." Remus suggested. "Arabella still fancies you, told me so amidst her purging."

"Nice to know what circumstances usually brings me into a girl's conversation." James groaned slightly amused, before his expression dropped. "Bloody hell, I still have to tell her, don't I?"

"Not unless you want me to join Team Sirius." Remus shot a deliberate look toward James, which caused his friend to recoil.

"Don't worry, I have every intention!" James guaranteed. "You'll understand if I would prefer to wait until she's up to taking the news?"

"I suppose." Remus said stiffly. "Just don't wait too long on this. Not if you have every intention of chasing Lily about Hogwarts."

"We've got to set out in a couple of hours." James referred to Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack. "You reckon Padfoot and Wormtail will be accompanying us?"

"They packed for it this morning." Remus recalled with a shrug, before he jerked to attention and pointed for James's benefit. Lily had entered into the common room. Spying the two boys, Lily threw her length of red hair over her shoulder as she made swift strides for the dormitory stares. Continuing the proud tradition of furniture hoping he had founded that day, James leapt over the chair and barricaded himself in front of the stairwell so quickly that Lily almost slammed into him.

"Move." Lily ordered.

"You and I NEED to talk." James insisted defiantly, both their eyes shifted towards the other faces in the room that had started to take an interest in their conversation.

Clearing his throat as he relinquished his spot on couch, Remus gestured for the other Gryffindors present to follow him.

"Come along now, let's play a round of eye-spy with the Fat Lady Portrait shall we?" Remus called. Bill Weasley shot Remus a look as though he were mad.

"What kind of ruse you think you're getting away with, Lupin?" Weasley retorted in a huff. Remus started to pull him along by the arm as the others simply followed him.

"A very obvious one. Fast track to Headboy, young Weasly, what with a keen wit like that!" Remus grinned as he left the common room to Lily and James.

"Fine, Potter, talk fast." Lily relented now that they were alone.

"I know what you must be thinking about what happened last night, Lily." James began in quick breaths. "But what happened in the attic has nothing, NOTHING to do with Sirius and Peter. It was an entirely separate affair."

"Oh please. Let me guess what this is about." Lily sneered. "You four need to divert my attention once again and since you were so wildly successful last time around – "

"That's just it, Lily. I had no idea." James interrupted. "I was as clueless as you about what they were prattling on about."

"So know you're going to try and convince me that what happened last night was somehow orchestrated by your friends?" Lily's tone was one of utter disbelief.

"Absolutely not." James shook his head. "I take full responsibility for everything that transpired between us upstairs: both the good and the bad. Anything past that was a complete misunderstanding. What happened was Remus gave Sirius and Peter the impression that he had sent you off so you wouldn't interrupt their very stupid scheme. After that, well, they decided it would be grand fun to make an ass out of me while they were at it themselves. I'm more than cross with Peter and Sirius at the moment, but if you talk to any of my friends, I'm sure they'd confirm that we didn't come up with anything like that before hand."

"Oh, and I should believe your friends?" Lily commented skeptically.

"Yeah! I swear that we didn't sit around, brewing up plans to. . .er. . ." James felt more than awkward for saying this and began running his hand through his untamed hair as proof. ". . .um. . .well. . .seduce you or anything." James finished quietly.

"So what? Came up with that all on your own then?" Lily pressed and watched James turn red and resume stroking his hair.

"Bloody hell, Lily!" James muttered more than flustered. "Given my overall approach to perusing you, do you really give me the credit of having the mental faculties to properly seduce ANYONE!"

Lily was tempted to laugh at how seemingly insecure James was behaving, but refused to let him win her over with this schoolboy ploy.

"Alright, assuming you weren't trying to seduce me and you had nothing to do with Black and Pettigrew's thoughtlessness that doesn't really leave us any better off." Lily replied.

"But it makes all the difference in the world!" James persisted. "What happened last night, before all this sordid business, isn't that more than enough reason to try for something, Lily?"

"Then tell me, James," Lily locked eyes with him as she spoke. "Do the same rules still apply? You're planning to either lie or omit truths to me every time it happens to overlap with ones involving your friends?"

James sighed realizing he hadn't thought that far ahead. Once again on the spot, James tried to craft some sort of reasonable compromise between his two very strong convictions: his affections for Lily and those of his friends.

"It's just not fair of you to ask me, Lily." James commented. "You're insisting that I choose between whether I'm loyal to you or my friends. I mean, we only get pinched for HALF the stuff we pulled off and the rest is just hanging over our heads looking for the first opportunity to come crashing down. I'm not saying it would be your intentions, but if certain things about myself, Sirius, Remus, or Peter ever hit the surface . . .we'd be facing expulsion or worse!"

"Are you telling me you're what, some kind of criminal?" Lily reeled slightly at James's sudden confession. James threw his hands up before him and started to violently shake his head in protest.

"No! We're not Death Eaters or anything like that!" James cringed at the thought. "We're just . . .well, four people who've had our lives needlessly complicated by one means or another. The sort of stuff not everyone would approve of or understand."

Figuring that James was being more or less sincere with her did little to soften Lily's resolve. She shook her head as she peered at James.

"You're right when you say it's not fair for me to make you choose between me and your friends." Lily relented. "If you're protecting them from things half as serious as you let on, then you're probably doing the right thing. But how can you just expect me to compromise my position? Maybe you could have a relationship with someone without a thought to intimacy, but I can't. I can't care for someone unwaveringly and be constantly suspicious of them at the same time. Love is trust, James."

James hated that she had a point because it made him helpless to argue against it.

"So then what do you want to do?" James asked at a complete loss.

"I think we should just part ways and leave everything between us to what may have been." Lily sighed.

James heard this but could not accept it. He knew Lily cared about him and so long as that was there, so was hope that they could work past this somehow in the end. James knew he was being stubborn and relentless about this whole situation and he knew even more that Lily was to blame.

After all, he wouldn't be acting like this if she wasn't completely worth it.

"If you think telling me that you've given up on us is going to be enough to dissuade me, Lily, you're dead wrong." James stated adamantly. "All that means is I have to try twice as hard to make it work."

"And what makes you so sure it can?" Lily countered. "When we both know neither one of us is going to budge a millimeter?"

"Because I WAS THERE last night." James replied. "And I know what I felt. And I know you felt it to."

More than tired of James's badgering, Lily took a step towards James with a flare in her eyes.

"You have no idea what I felt." Lily insisted pointedly. "So don't presume to tell me otherwise." But James just shook his head at this.

"Oh yes I do." James argued as he leaned in close to Lily. "I know you want and need me in every way I want and need you. And if you want to know how I can be sure of all this, it's because of how you kissed me back."

Failing to find an appropriate retort, Lily simply glared at James. James stared back with a firm and sincere quality to his eyes. He was certain of his case and wouldn't let anyone; least of all Lily, talk him out of it. Growing tired of their staring contest Lily broke away.

"I have things to do." Lily announced as she attempted to brush past James. She hadn't even reached the first step when she felt James grab her by the elbow and whispered into her ear.

"I have every intention of fighting for you, Lily." James assured in a voice that was honest and kind. "And I have every intention to win. Even if you are the opposition."

"Take your hand off me of I won't leave you with enough fingers to work a wand." Lily ordered from over her shoulder, but found it hard to keep the stern expression over her face. James smiled awkwardly and let her go before giving a small wave and walking off. Lily lingered there for a moment and sighed. She realized James wasn't going to make this easy on her but had to ask herself why he should.

After all, Lily remembered that kiss too.

Under the cover of the invisibility cloak, James, Sirius, and Remus made their way over to the Whomping Willow with Peter racing up ahead in his rat form. An awkward silence hung between the three as none dared to start a conversation out of fear of an argument starting underneath the cloak. As Wormtail deactivated the tree for the other boys to enter through, the remainder of the Marauders threw off the magical shroud. James trusted his cloak at Sirius gruffly.

"Here. You'll need this to sneak about the castle for the Hogsmeade passage." James offered and Sirius silently accepted before disappearing beneath it.

The boys had prearranged for Peter and Sirius to stop off at Honeydukes in the few hours they had before nightfall to gather some supplies while James made sure Remus got to the Shack alright before his change set in. Afterwards, Sirius and Peter would just use the cloak to sneak across Hogsmeade and meet up with their friends.

Overall, both parties were content with this plan since they were still quarreling and could use the time apart to sort out their feelings. If not for the fact they had been such close friends for so long and valued their sense of obligation to one another, James figured it would have only been him and Moony at the Shrieking Shack that evening. This knowledge in and of itself provided a hope that they all would be able to resolve some of their more bitter feelings in short time.

Remus and James entered into the dim tunnel and heard Wormtail activate the tree above them. As they journeyed though the uneven passage, Remus started up a conversation.

"Okay, from the beginning, what's going on with you and Lily?" Remus asked. "I got the abridged version this morning but I know there's a lot more to it than that."

"Much." James agreed before going into his long-winded explanation about his ironic concern for his and Sirius's friendship, admitting that it had been Lily's room he had stayed in that entire first night back (and the subsequent reason for their feud three weeks after), when he realized he had feelings for her, and when he first tried to get Lily to kiss him. After that, there was the entire misunderstanding with James believing Arabella and Sirius were looking to go together and her pursuit of him several weeks later until they settled upon what seemed to be a friendship over all.

"You've certainly crafted a complicated life for yourself." Remus marveled as he relived the past two months with James.

"The most dramatic of it all was last night." James sighed as he recalled the evening. "We were talking. I mean, REALLY talking and listening to one another, Moony. For a girl I've only bothered to get to know in the past year or so, Lily really knows me."

"More so than myself and the other Marauders?" Remus was curious. James shook his head.

"It's not the same sort of thing." James clarified. "It's hard to explain. I guess there are just ways your friends are supposed to understand you and ways lovers are supposed to."

"Never liked that word." Remus made a disapproving face. "'Lover'. It always seemed like something you'd apply to a frequent shag rather than a person you care about." Remus had a point.

"You're right, not lover." James agreed somewhat flustered. "I don't think of Lily like that. Well, I do but that's not the only way I think about her. Oh, we're getting off conversation with this!"

"Who cares? I want to keep with this one!" Remus grinned. "Sounds like it's going to interesting place." Remus laughed with James.

"Well too bad!" James slightly blushed. "My love life's one thing to talk about, my sex life; however, is not public domain."

"Alright then, if we're not going to be randy then get on with your story." Remus sighed. James nodded.

"Anyway, we were talking, then Lily took my hand." James went on. "I don't know why she did it, but she had. Lily made the first move."

"Wow." Remus said slightly stunned. He always knew Lily to be assertive and self-reliant, but he had assumed that James would be the first of them to make a move. It just seemed to be more in his nature.

"After that . . .I don't know, Remus . . ." James ran his hand through his hair unconsciously. "After that I HAD to kiss her. Not because I wanted to do it, but because it was the only thing I COULD do."

"I'm not following." Remus shook his head.

"I don't think I can explain it." James shrugged. "All I can say is that you end up falling into these moments of your life with other people and it all seems like one big play. As though, you don't really have a choice in what you're doing since that's just how it was meant to be. Last night, I think I was meant to kiss Lily because when I looked at her and saw how both stunningly perfect and tragically human she was all at once . . .I just want to be like that with her."

"I think you explained it pretty well there, Prongs." Remus approved with a small smile. "So then what happened? I mean, what went wrong?"

James cringed as the happy emotions he had when he thought about that kiss with Lily changed over to all the turmoil that followed. Going into detail about how he had to choose between revealing the existence of the invisibility cloak or to confide completely in Lily and how that had caused her to storm out into the misunderstanding with Sirius and Peter. Along with the utter lack of resolution he had achieved that day, James felt exhausted and frustrated all over again.

"And you told her you loved her." Remus added, remembering the conversation from that morning. James was shocked that he had forgotten that part when going over the story and felt guilty for it.

"Right . . ." James adverted his eyes. "Damn, what does it say about me that I completely forgot to mention that part?"

"Probably not the angst-ridden reason you're mind is conjuring." Remus replied. "I'm not saying that you don't love Lily or that you were lying when you said it the last night, but well, love's a hard thing to know. I just think you and Lily need a few more civil conversations and a lot more happy days to know for certain or not."

"So I'm not a horrible prat for saying it if that's the case?" James inquired. Remus only shook his head.

"Not in my mind." Remus assured. "Besides, it's not like you'd be the first teenager in history to jump the wand when it came to saying those three magic words."

"Okay, but what do you think overall?" James pressed. He needed to here some perspective other than his own toiling mind, since it was obviously leading him nowhere productive. Remus was silent for a minute as he mulled over his friend's predicament. Finally reaching a conclusion that seemed to correlate with everything he's seen and heard Remus turned to James.

"I've decided that you're an idiot, James."

Raising an eyebrow to Remus, James crossed his arms.

"If you're done channeling Snape, I'd appreciate a little insight here." James glared.

"What do you want me to say, James?" Remus rolled his eyes. "That you did everything right? That you did everything wrong? Simply put, you know where you made your mistakes in all this. That sort of awareness will be your best advantage in winning over Lily. Now here's the hard part for you: you're going to need patience, resilience, and sincerity if you have any hope of succeeding."

"But what about all the secrets between us?" James demanded.

"What about them?" Remus groaned. "Look, if you think she's worth it, if you really want to have a chance with her, tell her every last bloody thing she wants to know, James! Show her the cloak, tell her you're an animage, tell her I'm a werewolf! Make her the fifth Marauder for all I care!"

James prepared to protest, but Remus put his hands on both of James shoulders and peered into his friend's eyes.

"Lily's might be a Prefect, but she's Lily Evans first and foremost." Remus broke it all down. "The Lily Evans I know is a trustworthy, decent human being whom I sincerely doubt would ever do anything to intentionally hurt or exploit another person. And you might very well love her for this and more. If she'd make you sincerely happy, James, I don't think ANY person who'd claim to be your friend would ask you to betray your heart on their behalf."

Remus patted James on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't." Remus offered a halfway smile.

James felt as though a darkness had been lifted from over his head. Remus was absolutely right. James knew that he would have the help and support of all his friends if he asked for it. He also knew they would probably be thrilled for him if they knew how serious he was about all this. While these were all things James should have known, he was grateful he had Remus to remind him of them.

"You know, thank you Moony." James grinned appreciatively.

With that, the two trekked on to the Shrieking Shack to meet up with their other friends.

As it drew near lights out, Lily Evans and Severus Snape made their final sweeps as Prefects together through the castle halls. A light exchange of conversation flowed between them as they kept an eye out for any students still roaming.

"You don't suppose James and the others will be careless enough for us to come across them." Lily asked as her emerald eyes darted.

"Gone missing again, I assume?" Snape inquired. He was more than aware of the monthly excursions Potter and his friends enjoyed. It had been his mission for the past few years to uncover whatever it is they were up too and the most his investigations had ever gleaned was there secret had something to do with the Whomping Willow.

"I've mentioned it to Professor McGonagall since I can't imagine they're up to any good, but if they've ever been reprimanded for leaving I hear nothing about it." Lily reported.

"What about the incident last night?" Snape pressed.

"I'm sweeping that under the rug." Lily admitted reluctantly. "Not as any favor to James or his friends. I just don't want to lose any standing in McGonagall's eyes. I was going to work out some sort of in-House penance for them in exchange for my silence tonight, but they've gone and decided to spirit themselves off."

"I can understand your need to maintain your image." Snape observed. "I probably would have handled the situation similarly, though more assuredly harsh."

"Well, I doubt we will ever truly see eye to eye in our philosophies as Prefects, hmm?" Lily smiled acceptingly. "That begs the question: why did you become a Prefect. Fancy bossing people around?"

"That's merely one of the perks." Snape demonstrated the faintest grin.

"Then what is it?" Lily persisted.

"It's simply a means to a larger end." Snape replied. "I've grown more than tired of that smug prat Potter strutting about as though he owned the school with his cohorts in toe. They're begging for someone to put them in their places and since no one else cares to take that task upon themselves, I have."

"You became a Prefect just to try and get James and the others in trouble or expelled?" Lily questioned astounded. Snape merely shrugged. "Don't you find that to be a bit petty?"

"Well then please share your altruistic motive for becoming a Prefect." Snape insisted curtly.

"Well, it's nothing particularly noble." Lily confessed. "I suppose I just have this compulsion to prove myself in the eyes of everyone. Like you, it's just a means to an end."

"For what it may be worth, you have my respect regardless of whether or not you wear that badge." Snape offered staring on.

"Thank you Severus." Lily smiled. "It's more than mutual on my end."

Snape suddenly stopped walking and Lily paused with him. His black eyes bore into Lily's as he spoke.

"Lily." Snape began. He spoke her first name as though trying it out for the first time. "I feel obliged to ask you something in spite of all my better judgment."

"Go on." Lily encouraged more than curious.

"The Yule Ball's a month's time away." Snape led in. It seemed to Lily as though Snape somehow became more hardened looking as he talked. As though bracing himself against something. "Although I'd achieve a better sense of recreation at Azkaban, you know as well as I all Prefects are required to attend. As such, I was wondering if you would allow me to escort you there since, if my presence must be forced, I'd prefer to have a person whom I regard as a third of the intelligent population at this school as my company."

Finished supporting his argument, Snape waited for her reply.

Although she was more than stunned by this, Lily maintained an undaunted air about her as he mind reeled. Was this merely what Snape said it was and all he wanted was a companion for the evening that he could feign civility to? Lily found this more than plausible since Snape didn't appear to seek out anyone's company and appeared to speak with her more out of convenience than anything else. Or had she misinterpreted their relationship all together? The idea that Snape possessed even the most remote amount of romantic interest in anyone hadn't even crossed Lily's mind before this moment. After all, he seemed to go well out of his way to make it clear that he valued his privacy and had little care for the company of others. Growing irritable in her silences, Snape exhaled through his nose.

"It's a simple yes or no question." Snape's tone was aloof, but he seemed slightly defensive. "In either regard, do me the courtesy of responding without any long-winded explanations or rationalizations. I despise it when you make unnecessary apologies."

Still wondering if Snape was being completely forthright with her, Lily recognized that she had yet to acquire a date for the ball and had even forgotten about it altogether with the drama of her life as of late. When she had thought about it, Lily half expected she's attend with either James or Sirius just because that seemed to be the most natural option but now she wasn't sure how she felt about either those scenarios all things considering. While she was fond of Snape in a certain manner, she had never in her wildest of thoughts saw them attending a function like the Yule Ball together.

Realizing that she was stalling, Lily decided that Snape did deserve the respectful response he had requested; Lily parted her lips to give her reply.


	11. 1000 Words

1000 Words

By: Oy! Angelina

It was an hour's time after daybreak as the Marauders emerged from the Whomping Willow passage and crossed the castle grounds back to Hogwarts. Once again, Sirius, James, and Remus were concealed beneath the invisibility cloak as Peter scurried about their feet in his rat form. Once they had found a place where they were certain no one could spy them, the three boys threw off the shroud and Peter returned to his normal state. After all, no one really cared if a student was up early; it was being out late that was a problem.

As expected, the foursome had resolved most of their differences throughout the night and on the way back to school that morning. Their nights away at the Shrieking Shack had always served as bonding experiences for the Marauders as it was seen as a testament to the loyalty of friends as well as their willingness to be supportive and understanding of one another. Apologies were distributed as needed and James and Sirius were even on speaking terms once again (so long as the conversation had NOTHING to do with Lily Evans).

Operating on absolutely no rest with the promise of a long Monday ahead of them, the Marauders would be counting on a good deal of sugar and caffeine to carry them through the dry spots of the day until they could nap after classes. Remus and James were particularly worn since this was their second sleepless night and James still had Qudditch practice to look forward to. Since breakfast would be served in a little over an hour and there was little point in trying to sleep, the boys agreed to head to the library to cram for the classes they would have that day.

While all (except for maybe Peter) constituted some of the brightest minds admitted to Hogwarts, the four still had their stronger and weaker subjects and often provided a crash course for one another when someone was confused over a specific lesson. James had a scary grasp of Transfiguration, Sirius was more than adept with his Charms, Remus was lessons ahead everyone in Defense Against the Dark Arts (along with a little practical experience), and Peter seemed to retain information for Herbology more than well. Their remaining subject they always muddled through together and were rarely worse off for it.

Cloak slung over his arm, James told his three friends to head on ahead of him and get started since he needed to return his family heirloom back to its rightful place before it was noticed. Waving brief farewells, James made his way back to the Gryffindor tower. James struggled to keep his mind from drifting over to Lily, as it so readily did, by mentally reciting his notes from Professor McGonagall's lecture on Friday for turning toads into timepieces (this was very complicated since they had to make sure the watch kept perfect time). Their class time today would be spent putting there theory into practice.

James halted before turning the corner, as a set of familiar voices seemed to be coming his way. Quickly adjusting his cloak to avoid being spotted, James watched Lily and Arabella Figg pass along him unsuspecting. Arabella had the same expensive looking camera from their trip to Hogsmeade swaying about her neck as they headed toward the outside. Curious as to why they were up and about so early, James stalked behind the girls and they left through the archway the boys had entered in only moments before.

"Do you think Professor Brewsteem will notice if I make a photography potion in class instead of our assigned work?" Arabella questioned as the started to take off the lens on her camera.

"I'd wager probably not, but you shouldn't neglect your lessons." Lily chided.

"I know, I know! I just want to develop all the pictures I've been taking after I finish off this roll." Arabella explained. "I would have done it all yesterday if I wasn't so busy fashioning little voodoo dolls for Sirius and Peter amidst my retching." Although she looked worlds better from what Remus had described, James guessed Arabella was still more than bitter about her hangover.

"Why not get a few pictures by the trees?" Lily suggested as she gestured over to the Forbidden Forest for Arabella's benefit.

"Good a place as any." Arabella shrugged. "Then maybe a shot or two of the lake."

Struck by a suddenly clever seemingly plot, James did what he could to quietly sprint ahead of the girls and into the forest.

"So no sign of James or the others this morning even?" Arabella asked as they tread the grass.

"Not hide nor hair." Lily shook her head. "Though I assure you there will be plenty about once I get a hold of that bunch! I'd swear they're tying to make me out to be a fool!"

"Aren't we a narcissist?" Arabella joked. "I sincerely doubt that lot devotes large blocks of time to fashioning ways to annoy you."

"So you're saying it's just a natural affect of their personalities?" Lily smiled.

"Exactly!" Arabella exclaimed as they reached the mouth of the forest. "Go on, Lily! Lean against a tree so I can get a nice pose of you!"

Obliging her friend, Lily took several steps toward a rather large oak when a mature stag made its way out of the Forbidden Forest. Jumping back with a little bit of a start, Lily reversed her movements toward Arabella.

"Oh look at that!" Arabella chirped merrily. "I didn't know deer were about in the Forbidden Forest!" She readied her camera and fired off a shot at the buck with a dark and untamed coat.

"Well if it's been surviving in there, it probably carnivorous or breaths fire." Lily eyed it suspiciously. The stag studied the two girls and an amused sort of manner for a moment before trotting up to Lily and nuzzling her affectionately. Lily stiffened at first at this, but eventually relaxed as she began to pat the deer along its back.

"Carefully, Lily! He's luring you into a false sense of security!" Arabella gasped dramatically. Lily made a sarcastic face as she continued to pet the evidently tamed buck.

"Certainly a pleasant creature." Lily observed in a cooing voice, afraid she might accidentally frighten the stag off. Arabella took a few steps back, camera poised

"I think I'll get a shot or two, hm?" Arabella adjusted her leans before committing the scene to film. "He sure seems to fancy you! Looks like you found your date for the Yule Ball!"

Lily laughed as she pet the deer's head.

"It would appear so." Lily smiled. Letting her camera hang off her neck, Arabella shot Lily an inquisitive look.

"So who are you going with, since we're on the subject." Arabella demanded. "Bet you're telling the boys to form a line to the left!"

The stag's head cocked to Lily as though awaiting her response as well.

"Oh don't you start in on me!" Lily laughed looking at the stag in disbelief. "Bad enough she's a snoop!"

"You're sta-ling!" Arabella sang. "Come on, Lily! There must be someone in this school full of handsome young wizards that you could come off your pedestal to spend an evening with."

"Oh? And who are YOU gracious enough to settle for?" Lily diverted the question.

"No less than the elusive Mr. Potter!" Arabella replied almost triumphantly.

Lily couldn't say she was really surprised by Arabella's answer but it still managed to shock her a bit regardless.

"I thought you two were just friends." Lily stated as she continued to stroke the deer at her side who seemed to suddenly get agitated.

"I'm asking him to a dance, Lily, not to walk down the bloody aisle!" Arabella laughed. "We can go as friends, though a girl can hope he won't feel so platonic once he catches sight of me in my new dress robes!"

Lily only nodded to this as she felt the stag relax under her touch. Adverting Arabella's eyes, Lily felt more than a little intimidated by the comely blonde whose perky attitude and winning smile were things not easily rivaled. Between her attractive looks and charming personality, Lily was almost worried that Arabella might not be entertaining false hopes. After all, she had been giving James the cold shoulder lately and maybe he was looking for someone to warm up to.

"Well good luck with that." Lily tried to sound sarcastic even though she was feeling defensive. "I very much doubt James could manage to find his way into dress robes considering he's too much of a wanker to find his way back to bed last night."

Arabella giggled a bit before stopping with a quizzical expression.

"Well that's odd." Arabella noted as she watched the stag. "Is it just me or did it look like he just gave off a pissy snort and roll his eyes?"

Lily smiled at the deer as she ran a hand down its neck.

"Fan of James, eh?" Lily commented empathetically. "Well, he can be decent in those sparse instances it occurs to him."

"Now if you're done using James to distract me, why not answer my question?" Arabella teased. "You'd look smashing on Sirius's arm and I know he's dying to take you."

"Well, that may be but he's categorized under "prat" in my book at the moment." Lily huffed. Sirius hadn't even bothered to offer her a proper apology yet. Although James had decided to mix a bit more tension into his, at least he had attempted to make peace with her the day before.

"Then who do you plan on taking?" Arabella whined impatiently.

"Umm…well the boy I had hoped to go with…that won't be working out for me." Lily confessed glumly. Arabella's brow knitted together with a look of concern.

"Why not?" Arabella demanded, offended on her friend's behalf. "Is he terminally thick or something? Spurning you would get his arse kicked by half the school, myself heading up the parade!"

Lily smiled at the protectiveness of her friend and shook her head.

"No, actually he seems to be very interested in me." Lily clarified and Arabella grew more confused.

"So then, what's the problem?" Arabella shrugged. "I mean, if you fancy him and he fancies you, what else do you need?"

"Honesty, for starters." Lily sighed.

"Bold face liar, is he?" Arabella offered a weak smile.

"When it suits him, yes." Lily smiled a bit. "Of course, he's so bad at it I can't imagine how he ever gets away with anything."

"Maybe he's just bad around you." Arabella suggested. "Maybe he really wants to be honest."

"Maybe." Lily replied thoughtfully. "Still, it's a complicated sort of thing that would only get more muddled if we went to the ball together. It's like putting a lid on a boiling cauldron. Everyone can go about ignoring it until is boils over and makes a bigger mess than before."

"Well what makes it so difficult in the end?" Arabella attempted to understand.

"He's the brilliant author of his own life, but seems to have trouble ever recognizing the needs and motivations of everyone around him." Lily tried to rationalize. "He's so caught up in telling this grand and epic tale, everything that would make it sincere somehow gets lost between the pages. I trust when people are retelling the events of his life, it will be a very good story. I just don't think it will be a happy one at the end."

"And you need that?" Arabella walked over to Lily and put a hand on her shoulder. "Some white knight to come along and carry you off like a princess into the sunset?"

Lily shook her head.

"Nothing so gallant." Lily corrected. "I'd just be thrilled with a good, old fashioned ' and they lived happily ever after'."

"Oh I always hated those!" Arabella crinkled her face, causing Lily to laugh. "For all you know they could up and die right after that! It's not like it specifies how long they go on to 'happily live'."

"What does it matter?" Lily challenged. "I mean, if they were blissful and in love, who cares if they lived to be nineteen or ninety?"

"I guess not, but the former would make for a grim sort of tale." Arabella shrugged. "Getting offed so young..."

"Well, yeah." Lily relented. "But they died beautiful, in the peak of their lives, never having to question one another's love. It would be like living fast and free, without ever having to worry about the world catching up to you as it's bound to do."

"That's how I feel with James." Arabella sighed romantically. Lily tried not to roll her eyes, but guessed she wasn't the only woman James had this sort of affect on.

"It's good that you're head over heels for James, you'll be needing that." Lily observed solemnly.

"Why do you say that?" Arabella pressed.

"It will be a lot harder for him to go about, disappointing you, what with all his walking on water." Lily's expression was more than amused as Arabella's jaw went slack a bit as she tried to be indignant.

"You're horrible!" Arabella just laughed. "Come on, let's see if breakfast is out. If you're going to make fun of me, I may as well be eating while you do!"

Lily gave the buck a few more loving strokes before patting it on its head.

"We'll we're off…Mr…er…" Lily searched her mind before turning to Arabella. "We didn't bother to name him."

"Can I put a vote in for Mr. Coat-rack?" Arabella smirked.

"Okay, now THAT time he rolled his eyes." Lily chuckled as she walked off with Arabella and gave the deer a wave goodbye. "See you around, Mr. Buck. Don't be a stranger and we'll work on a proper name for you for the next time we meet."

As the girl's disappeared into the body of Hogwarts castle, the stag trotted back into the Forbidden Forest to where he had left his invisibility cloak. Reverting back to his usual human form, James Potter sighed as he made his way back to the school.

"Great, now if I can only resign myself to being her pet deer, Lily and I will get along famously." James muttered to himself as he over stepped a large root.

Although few truly dangerous or bizarre creatures ever bothered to venture out of the heart of the Forbidden Forest, James kept his wits about him and his wand at his side as she strolled. Spying the clearing a few paces ahead, James replayed Lily and Arabella's conversation and felt more than a little depressed. It was evident that Lily seemed to really like him but it wasn't fair to expect her to do all the compromising if they were going to have a shot together.

When she had been alluding to him, James thought a lot of what she said was right. He was very insistent upon getting his way and found himself more than oblivious at times to whether it came at someone else's expense. The only way James could feel worse about his selfishness is if he knew he did it intentionally. He hoped he'd be able to let Arabella down once and for all without it hurting her too much since James was sure, if he could dictate matters of the heart, that he could have been more than smitten with the energetic girl. James decided that Lily was right and he needed to devote a little more substance to the manner in which he conducted his life. Now all he had to do was figure out how to give himself, Lily, and even the sweet Arabella a happy ending.

Still, James never pegged Lily as such a romantic.

A popular class in spite of the frequent injuries to Professor Kettleburn, Care for Magical Creatures had the Marauders, Lily, Arabella, and most of the other 6th Year Gryffindors together. As opposed to virtually every other subject, the boys in their three and a half years in the class had come to behave slightly more serious during the period since they were partial to all their limbs and fingers. What made the class most enjoyable was the utter lack of Snape. Kettleburn carried out a crate with ten jars filled with insects before turning to address his students.

"Since I'm still nursing the wounds inflicted from the Cockatrices we handled last Friday, I've decided on a far less combustible activity for today." Professor Kettleburn introduced. "We will be working with some Bowtruckles in the Forbidden Forest. Anyone care to explain what a Bowtruckle is for the benefit of the class? Ah, of course, Miss Evans."

"Bowtruckles are nature guardians native to Western England, Germany, and Scandinavia. They inhabit trees, feeding off insects and look as though they were made from bark and leaves themselves. They are traditionally peaceful but become exceptionally hostile if they feel the tree they are protecting is being threatened." Lily reported.

"Good then, ten points to Gryffindor." Kettleburn nodded approvingly. "Alright then, everyone understand all that? Your assignment for today is to walk a bit into the forest, find a Bowtruckle, and try to make friends with it. You can never have too many friends in the Forbidden Forest. You will work in pairs but travel in groups of six just to be on the safe side. Each duo will have a jar of insects to offer to the Bowtruckles they come across and I CANNOT encourage you enough to not come across as a menace."

Kettleburn looked thoughtfully at the Marauders, pointing a bandaged hand at James and Sirius.

"You there!" He said in an accusing voice. "Weren't you the two who attempted to ride off on that Hippogriff 3rd Year?"

"Er, yes…" James admitted, stifling a grin at the memory. It was filed under the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" events in James's life.

"Lasted eight seconds once she started bucking!" Sirius said a little too proudly. Some of the class snickered then.

"Yes, well I don't think I'll be letting you two collaborate on this one." Kettleburn didn't seem to find the instance as amusing as his students. "Mr. Black can partner with his Prefect and perhaps if Miss Figg's safety is an issue, it will proved Mr. Potter a moment of pause. Alright now, that said, find a partner the rest of you, grab a jar, and set out with two other pairs. Keep in sight on one another!"

As everyone else began to pair up, Sirius made his was over to Lily as he watched Arabella drag James off excitedly with her. Lily nodded in acknowledgement, but appeared to be stiff in dealing with Sirius. Of course, he recognized it was more than warranted given the past few days.

"If you're planning on mounting a Bowtruckle, I'm just letting him have at you." Lily warned as she grabbed a jar and followed Remus, Peter, James, and Arabella into the Forbidden Forest. "Don't suppose you'll be telling me about where you and your friends were last night?"

"Sorry…can't." Sirius smiled apologetically. "Nothing personal."

Making sure his friends were all invested in their own conversations, Sirius turned to Lily with his most sincere expression.

"Um, look Lily." Sirius started awkwardly. "I know this is a day over due, but I'm sorry about my behavior Saturday night. They'll be redefining the term "git" thanks to me and Peter and I assure you that we won't be blind-siding you like that again. We could have gotten you in trouble with McGonagall and that's not right since you've been a more than pleasant Prefect to us all things considering. Anyway, no more drinking parties unless you give the go ahead and Peter and I will NEVER attempt to brew our own ever. There are more kindly poisons I know of then that we passed about. But seriously, sorry."

"Well, so long as you can admit it." Lily sighed and accepted the apology since it sounded more than heartfelt. "But I still plan on punishing the lot of you for all the discord you caused me that night. I don't want Professor McGonagall to get involved if I don't have to but I have to make an example so the other students won't think I'm a push over."

"Absolutely!" Sirius agreed. "You name our penance and we shall serve it out with smiles."

"Tell you're friends they can expect to tutor some of the younger Year students from now until Winter Holiday, practically every evening." Lily informed and Sirius took it with a grin. "That should keep you all out of trouble and where I can see you. That and it will be a help to a couple of the struggling students in the House."

"Sure thing then!" Sirius agreed. "

"And please don't corrupt them as you've done so marvelously with yourselves." Lily pleaded while Sirius laughed. They both were scanning the trees, hoping to catch sight of a thoroughly camouflaged Bowtruckle.

"Got it, no extra credit or field trips." Sirius nodded before shyly glancing over at Lily. "So…are we alright then?"

"I suppose we are now." Lily decided with a smile.

"Good." Sirius took a glance to make sure the rest of the class was out of earshot for their conversation. "Because I want to talk to you on behalf of James."

"Oh trust me, James doesn't need your help to talk on his behalf." Lily replied with a snort.

"Actually, I think he does." Sirius argued. "You're a great girl, Lily, but hard headed at times. And what I said at the party, well that was a case of crossed signals. James really didn't know what Peter and I were up too so he wasn't using you or anything like that."

"He's already set me straight." Lily stated.

"James also gave me the impression, no details mind you, that you two were getting along pretty well before hand." Sirius continued on. "And well, if that's true then I think you should give the boy a fair go. He's the best friend a bloke could ask for and I'm sure that's only half of what he's capable of as a boyfriend."

Lily stopped walking to start up at Sirius with a sympathetic expression.

"James is lucky to have a person like you speak so highly of him." Lily complimented. "But he and I have things we need to work out between us before I can even consider such a thing."

"Well, couldn't you think about it at the Yule Ball…with him…" Sirius tried. "I mean, even if nothing comes of it, I'm sure we'd all have a good time!"

"I think Arabella is planning of doing that." Lily informed Sirius.

"Yeah, but James wants to go with YOU." Sirius stated as though to close the subject. "I understand that Arabella is really sweet on James but she's fond of you too. I think if she knew what it meant to the two of you, ' Bella would be more than reasonable."

"There's more to it than that." Lily insisted.

"No there isn't!" Sirius countered. "I'll take Arabella to the dance, she'll have a grand time and won't even look twice at you and James. It's that simple."

"I…already have plans for the ball." Lily said while clearing her throat.

"Oh come on now!" Sirius spoke as though offended. "Who'd be mad enough to do a thing like that?"

Insulted, Lily threw Sirius a cross glare and he shrank away defensively.

"No, not that no one would WANT to take you." Sirius clarified. "All I meant by it was half the school thinks you're going with me and the other half figures you and James are a couple. I just can't think of anyone who'd be brash enough to challenge a couple of guys as manic as us."

"Severus Snape." Lily answered.

"Oh well, yeah that prat would – " Sirius stopped half-way through his sentence. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!"

The other Marauders and Arabella all turned to look at Sirius who smiled and pretended to investigate a shrub.

"…that nightshade ISN'T edible!" Sirius covered his outburst. "Fascinating stuff." The other four in the pack turned back to their own assignment and ignored Sirius's weirdness. No longer paying attention to either him or Lily, Sirius turned to her.

"I'm sorry, I have a little insanity caught in my ear!" Sirius hissed in disbelief. "What would possess you to say yes to going to the ball with SNAPE?"

"Are you done with the theatrics, Sirius?" Lily growled. "I don't see how this is any of your business."

"It is if you're just looking to get back at James!" Sirius declared. "I mean, you want to be mad at him, fine! That doesn't mean you need to use Snape as a bid to make my friend jealous. Trust me, he'll find ways to act irrational and deranged all his own!"

"How DARE you!" Lily glowered. "Did you just imply that I'm using Severus as some pawn to throw at James?"

"Well then why don't you clarify for me what the appeal is?" Sirius pressed.

"All the Prefect have to attend whether they want to go or not. Severus hates these sorts of things and would be miserable otherwise. So he asked me to accompany him so he'd have someone as talk to!" Lily justified. "It's nothing more impressive than a friends thing. I assure you I can think of better ways to spend my time with Severus that to rile up James!"

"Yeah, and I'm sure the same goes for Snape." Sirius sneered. "If you catch my meaning."

"Sirius, the BOWTRUCKLES caught your meaning!" Lily said in a huff before turning over to Peter and Remus. "Remus! Trade partners with me please!"

Remus glanced over to the two quizzically.

"What makes you think I want him?" Remus laughed.

"Please!" Lily breathed desperately. "I'm not getting any work done."

Checking with Peter, who only shrugged in ambivalence, Remus and Lily traded off. Stepping up by Sirius who was glowering, Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, what did YOU do?" Remus accused. "You're not still looking to usurp her from James are you?"

"No!" Sirius insisted. "In fact, I'm trying to help him but Lily certainly won't make that a simple sort of chore."

"Yeah, because she's so easy on James." Remus commented drying. "Let's just find a damn Bowtruckle, hmm?" With his new partner, Sirius tried to find something to feed Remus's jar of insects to. More than once, Sirius was tempted to pass along what Lily had just told him, but stayed his tongue.

He wanted to talk to Snape first before he raised an alarm.

In the drafty Potions dungeon, the Gryffindors and Slytherins congregated amidst themselves as they prepared to brew batches of Fire Repelling Draughts (which Brewsteem emphasized WOULD NOT be tested in class). As usual, the Potions Mistress left the class to workout their partner arrangements for themselves and only bothered to address them with the occasional nervous comment about in-class safety.

"I swear with all her hissing and pacing, you'd think she was one of Arabella's thirty cats!" Peter chuckled under his breath, prompting Arabella to elbow him in the side.

"My pretties are nowhere near THAT high strung." Arabella informed indignantly. "You're my partner for today because I think I shall like to yell at you more."

"Great, always wanted a second mother…" Peter muttered as he set his stuff down next to Arabella.

Sirius moved past the two Gryffindors and took the stool next to Snape in the corner of the classroom. Snape gave Sirius a glare of hatred and disbelief.

"Something in particular I can reject helping you with, Black?" Snape demanded as he watched Sirius start to pull out his Potions' equipment.

"You're going to be my partner today!" Sirius flashed an obnoxious broad smile at the Slytherin boy as he made it clear it wasn't to be taken as a request.

"The hell I am." Snape corrected.

Lily entered the room with James just behind her and caught sight of the bizarre scene.

"What's Sirius playing at? Why would be want to be Snape's partner?" Lily nudged James as she observed the conversation. "He's just looking to stir up trouble!"

Lily moved to say something to Sirius, but James caught her arm.

"Hold on, now." James urged, seeing this as an opportunity to take Lily as his own partner. "Snape's a Prefect too isn't he? He should be able to handle Sirius if he gets out of hand. Besides, I don't reckon Snape would appreciate having a Gryffindor girl come along and rescue him in front of his House."

Lily weight James's words in her mind. She knew Sirius was probably planning to harass Snape for taking her to the ball, but also realized that James was right and she would only end up embarrassing all three of them if she went over. Breathing a heavy sigh, Lily found a station with James.

"Last chance to go along peacefully with this." Sirius warned.

"Take your one man spectacle over to Potter's end of the dungeon." Snape ordered definitively. Sirius shrugged as he stood up to address their Potions Mistress (and subsequently the class) in a loud and projected voice.

"Professor Brewsteem!" The instructor seemed to cringe at being involved in the class.

"Mr. Black?" She questioned warily as Sirius threw up his most charming grin.

"I'm a little unclear on the lesson for today, seeing as I'm far more adept at setting things aflame rather than repelling fire. I'd like to work with Snape so I'll be sure to understand it." Sirius explained in an innocent sounding voice. Snape rolled his eyes while the rest of the class murmured or snickered.

"Wouldn't it be less… traumatic for all involved if you simply worked with either Miss Evans or Mr. Potter?" Brewsteem questioned as she eyed the smiling Gryffindor. "They're both as capable in Potions as Mr. Snape."

"Oh and I would normally agree with that, Professor! But I'm afraid I'm far too muddled to afford being distracted by either of them." Sirius assured without breaking his smile. "I mean, James is hilarious and as big a prat as myself and Lily, you ravishing Veela! How can you expect any bloke to keep his mind on his work around you?"

Sirius threw a wink at Lily, to which she responded with a disgruntled noise from the back of her throat. James had his nose pressed into his Potions book so no one could see him stifling his laugher until the Slytherin Lestrange spoke up.

"If that's true, then why do you suppose Potter's immune?" The Slytherin's cackled at their peer's innuendo while James threw a cross look their way. Lily buried her face into her hand.

"In summation, since Snape is utterly unappealing to me on an emotional OR physical level…" The class watched Snape bristle as Sirius gave him a swift pat on the back. "I'd like to partner with him!"

"If I say 'yes', will it end this conversation?" Brewsteem asked in a tired voice as she took note of the discord in her class.

"Not on my part." Snape assured as he started to rise, but Sirius roughly pushed him back down into his seat.

"Also, I think Snape could use my help with handling the ingredients." Sirius added.

"I fail to see how you could be of any help to me, Black." Snape retorted in his most condescending tone.

"You will if I break both your hands for protesting too much." Sirius replied under his breath so only Snape could hear without breaking his grin. More than annoyed with the futility of his complaints, Snape's lips tightened into a furious sneer as she settled into his seat.

"Fine." Snape said curtly through his teeth.

"I thank you for your attention." Sirius expressed gratitude as he joined his new partner. Slowly the class went back to their assignment and Professor Brewsteem returned to staring vacantly from her seat.

"The shallow recesses of your mind cannot begin to fathom how many points your little stunt has cost Gryffindor." Snape informed as he set up his cauldron.

"Yes, we all stand in awe of the mighty badge…" Sirius mocked as he began to mince the salamander tongue. Sirius had completely dropped his charming act and was doing what he could to be more than menacing. "I want to know what you think you're doing with Lily Evans."

"Already bragging about her plans is she?" Snape smirked at Sirius's evident annoyance.

"Don't play games with me you conniving git!" Sirius snapped. "Or I swear you'll find I lack the restraint James has when it comes to bashing in your snooping nose."

"Go ahead, Black." Snape's black eyes shined. "It will be a very happy holiday for me to see the expression on your face when they expel you for assaulting a Prefect."

Snape studied Sirius's expression and smugly grinned as both knew he had just called the Gryffindor's bluff.

"I thought not." Snape spat out. "Don't confused me with someone who gives a damn about your idle threats. Of all the things that have the potential of intimidating me, Black, I assure you spoiled, pretty boys of rich wizards don't even make the list."

"You're taking Lily to the ball over my dead body." Sirius declared.

"You say that as though it can't be arranged." Snape parried.

"Look, we could flirt back and forth like this all afternoon..." Sirius ground his teeth. "But I'm just going to lay it out straight. Whatever you have planned for the Yule Ball isn't going to happen. I'm not going to let you use Lily just to piss James off or humiliate her just because she's Muggle-Born or however else you Slytherins get your wands off."

"Last I checked, Evans is more than capable of managing the affairs of her own life. As I am my own." Snape bared his teeth. "Regardless of however you and Potter will contrive this situation in order to spare your raging egos, know that she accepted entirely of her own accord. And if that's not good enough for you, may I recommend drowning your sorrows in some other attractive co-ed?"

Sirius was seeing red and took deep breaths to avoid smashing a beaker into the side of Snape's head.

"There's nothing you can do to persuade me to retract my offer and only Evans has the right to refuse it." Snape advised. "So why don't you save your ragged breath, Black?"

Certain that Snape was only playing at some means to hurt Lily, Sirius was frustrated that he wasn't able to advert the danger. Sirius had kind of hoped that he would have been able to drive Snape off, but knew then that wasn't going to happen since he was so insistent upon being a bastard about it. Knowing that he'd probably be seeing a whole lot of Madam Pomfrey if he tried to dissuade Lily again, Sirius was struck by a third option that wouldn't win him many friends but would piss Snape off royally.

"Won't do things the easy way then?" Sirius's eyes flickered, but didn't blink. He felt more than a little manic at the moment. "Hope you're into threesomes then because I plan on being your shadow that night!" In the meantime, Sirius could only hope that, once he found out, James would put forth a more valiant and effective effort than he had.

Sirius flashed an obnoxious grin at Snape's seething glowering, and hastily gathered up his supplies.

"Well THANK YOU for your time, Snape, but I think I have it now!" Sirius announced in a booming voice to the class, causing a couple groups to almost tip their cauldrons and shoot Sirius unappreciative glares. Sirius made his way over to Remus and a Slytherin called Nott's station. "Oy, Nott! Get the HELL away from MY partner!"

Professor Brewsteem sighed as she massaged her temple and looked over to Arabella and Peter, who were seated the closest to her.

"You two…your new assignment is to whip me up a headache tonic." Brewsteem instructed over Remus's protests of being partnered with Sirius again. This seemed to be an open invitation for a verbal melee throughout the dungeon.

"You'll be forever known to the Gryffindors as St. Remus if you keep Sirius away from the rest of us!"

"Put a stopper in it, Black before we see how well Lupin's Fire Repellent really works!"

"Why don't you slither up here and hiss that to my face, Avery!"

It was most assuredly a Monday in Potions.

Returning to their dormitories after lessons, the Marauders started to pull the curtains against their windows, bringing a false night to their bedroom. Peter and Remus both flopped on their beds, pathetically mumbling about their wish to sleep. Sirius looked a little too high strung to turn in right away and James had practice on the pitch in half an hour.

"Lucky, sodding prats…" James muttered bitterly as he started to change into his Quidditch robes.

"It gets worse." Sirius assured. "Lily's going to have us tutor the under classmen as punishment for sneaking out and the party on Saturday. We have our afternoons planned from now until holiday."

The Marauders shared a groan as Sirius could only shrug.

"It's either that or McGonagall." Sirius put things into perspective.

"Great so now after I'm done helping some 1st Year squib with turning a beetle into a button I get to start on my own work?" James moaned as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"I always said our James was a philanthropist at heart." Remus sarcastically commented. "Not all of us are as brilliant as you James."

"He's just cranky because he hasn't slept in two days." Sirius diagnosed.

"Bullocks to that!" James protested. "The sleep deprivation only makes me stronger."

"You'll be singing a different tune later." Remus reported. "We're due for Astronomy tonight."

James stopped dressing to gape at Remus in shock before remembering that he was right and proceeded to start stomping about the room in frustration.

"Bloody hell! I'm never sleeping again!" James moaned.

James collapsed on his bed to scream into his pillow and hit the headboard in a tantrum. Remus laughed madly on his back, staring at the ceiling while listening to his friend's fit. Peter turned to Sirius, who were both propped on their elbows watching James with amusement.

"You know, it's an odd thing." Peter smirked. "For once I DON'T envy Prongs."

Recollecting himself, James finished pulling on the rest of his robes and grabbed his broom. He threw the door open and muttered something about getting to sleep once he was dead. Sirius jumped off the bed to follow after James.

"Here, I'll walk you to the pitch!" Sirius offered as he joined James at his side.

"Act of pity or something on your mind, Padfoot?" James questioned as they made their way out of Gryffindor Tower.

"Yeah…I was hoping we could discuss Lily for a bit." Sirius cleared his throat. James stole an uncertain glance at Sirius before he locked his sight ahead.

"Sure…I was probably going to bring it up if you didn't." James agreed awkwardly. "I was curious to know what was going on with you, her, and Snape today. I mean, you were peculiar for even you."

"It's not for the reason's you're probably assuming." Sirius assured. "I spent the whole day working on ways to get you a clear shot at Lily. I'm giving in to you, James. I think you're more serious about Lily than I ever was."

James looked at Sirius again, first in disbelief than with relief. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and smiled apologetically.

"I'm really sorry this happened." James insisted, but Sirius shook his head.

"I'm not. Never seen you happier, mate." Sirius smiled briefly before his expression fell grim. "That's why I hate to tell you this."

"What is it?" James questioned with his brow furrowed. Sirius looked to his feet as his hands searched for a place to hide in his pockets. Taking a sharp gasp, Sirius locked eyes with his best friend.

"James, Lily's going to the Yule Ball with Snape." Sirius said matter-of-factly. James reacted as though Sirius had just slapped him in the face.

"You're sure?" James pressed in a hollow voice.

"I heard it from Lily and confirmed it with Snape." Sirius nodded solemnly. "James, I've done everything I could think of to remedy the situation but…"

"No, it's alright." James felt nauseous at the thought of the girl he adored hanging of the arm of the person he loathed most. "Not your fault."

"We're going to fix this Prongs!" Sirius vowed as they existed the castle. "You and I will put our clever heads together and come up with a brilliant means to trade Snape out for you. I'm sure Remus and Peter will help us too. This isn't the end of it, James."

"No I suppose it isn't." The shock hadn't left James's tone. He glanced over to the pitch and adjusted his grip on the broom. "Well, thanks for walking me. I need to ponder on this a bit, I guess. Maybe flying will clear my head."

Sirius nodded along as all words of comfort failed him.

"Yeah, I'll see you at dinner then." Sirius waved as he walked back to the castle feeling more miserable on his friend's behalf than he ever felt for himself. Even if you lost a girl to your best friend, you at least could be certain they were both ending up with a good person…but to your enemy…

Heading back to the dormitories, Sirius brooded over his vow to James and tried to think of the best way to realize it. While walking along one of Hogwarts main corridors, Snape was passing along his left. Sirius locked eyes with the Slytherin boy but neither said anything. The hatred in their glares expressed more than words could ever. Catching the smug, triumphant look over Snape's pasty features, Sirius felt himself making a new vow.

He would spare no expense or stop at any prank to wipe that look from Snape's face.

Arabella could hear Sirius swearing something about Snape from her room. Shacking her head at the usual angst, she went back to developing her photographs. In her bathroom turned darkroom, Arabella was surrounded by a bunch of Muggle style photographs just waiting for a breath of life. Precisely mixing the Potion that she would use to animate the images and memories she had preserved on film, Arabella didn't want to risk damaging them.

Her first and failed batch had left an entire roll of her pictures of her cats irreparably motionless. Deciding that still shots of her cats were better than none and thankful that she hadn't damaged any of her more favored photographs, Arabella was sure she had it right this time and decided to test it on some of the shots she had taken just that morning.

Finding the ones with Lily and the stag from the Forbidden Forest, Arabella poured the potion into a basin and dipped the picture in. Adjusting the glasses she occasionally dawned for reading and close inspections, Arabella's cat-like eyes awaited results. She watched as the preserved character of Lily begin to stoke the deer, occasionally turning her smile away from it to grin out from the photo. Arabella giggled merrily as she studied her creation.

"I swear that randy stag keeps winking at Lily…" Arabella laughed to herself as the hung the picture to dry along a cord.

Happy that it appeared to be working and nothing had combusted yet, Arabella went to work on the remainder of the film until she came across the ones she had taken at Hogsmeade.

"Oh these are going to be smashing!" Arabella beamed as she started to animate the memories, reliving them all over again. When she came upon the picture of her, Lily, and the usual Gryffindor foursome of boys, Arabella silently predicted this would be her favorite shot. Dipping it in the solution, Arabella watched.

It was taken just before they were all on their way back to Hogswarts. From left to right it was Remus, Sirius, Lily, James, Arabella, and Peter. Most of the time, everyone was facing forward, laughing or smiling out of the picture, with the occasional adoring glance Sirus would cast Lily's way when he drew her a bit closer or one Arabella would direct towards James as she squeezed his arm. But neither James nor Lily seemed to notice all this in the photograph…

…They were too busy staring longingly at one another.

Feeling the smile drain off her face, as though someone had just pulled the stopper, Arabella's eyes darted over the photo for several long moments before she looked away.

"Oh, bloody hell…" Arabella sighed as she hung the photo along with the rest and finished the remaining pictures with far less enthusiasm.


	12. Three Days and Counting

Three Days and Counting

By: Oy! Angelina

In the boys' dormitories of Gryffindor tower, Remus and Peter sat on top their beds, exhausted but unsleeping as they listened to Sirius rant. Both would have been liable to strangle Sirius for waking them from the first wink of sleep they'd had in days if the indignant conversation be about anything other than Snape taking Lily to the Yule Ball and how such a thing would devastate one of their closest friends. Pacing and cursing, Sirius kept waving hands about to emphasize whatever point or threat he was making at the moment. After he had brought them up to speed as best he could, Sirius turned to the two other Marauders.

"Well, what are we going to do about all this?" Sirius demanded as he flopped on his own bed, awaiting their replies. Remus and Peter exchanged wary looks from across the room, it was evident they were more than concerned with their friend's temper at the moment.

"This is going to be yet another memory in my life that ends with bloodletting isn't it?" Was all Peter could say in response to Sirius's question. Sirius gave a less than appreciative look Peter's way before turning to Remus expectantly.

"Come on, Moony, you're the insightful one here." Sirius pressed.

"And my wisdom beyond the ages thinks you should calm yourself a bit." Remus urged. "We're not going to be much of help to James if the best suggestions we manage are creative torture methods to use on Snape."

"I have a comment I'm not sure you guys are going to like." Peter said hesitantly before his two friends. Remus and Sirius turned their attentions to Peter who nervously continued. "Maybe this isn't our business or our fight." It was Sirius and Remus's turn to exchange looks.

"And all this time I wondered . . . 'why a rat'." Sirius glared at Peter.

"Wormtail! James is our friend!" Remus stated as though Peter needed to be reminded. "He needs our help with this!"

"Yeah, but he didn't ask for it!" Peter observed. "For all we know, we could make things bloody worse for him by sticking our noses where they don't belong. Maybe the best we can do by Prongs is root for him along the sidelines like we do for Quidditch."

Remus looked as though he were about to argue against this before Sirius raised a hand to silence him.

"No, I think Peter had a point in all this." Sirius relented. "Let's face it; we haven't been helping him all that much lately when we've thought we were working on his behalf." Remus and Peter nodded solemnly as they reflected on their personal blunders as of late.

"So we just sit back and cringe as the carnage unfolds then?" Remus said in a deflated tone as he flopped on his back.

"Possibly." Sirius shrugged. "Let's wait until we gat a chance to talk to James, if he asks for our help, we'll be more than happy to give it to him. If he wants us to stay out of it, then I guess that's what we'll have to do."

"We can still be mean to Snape though right?" Peter confirmed with a sour expression.

"Oh well that's just a given." Sirius snorted obviously.

With that, the boys settled in for a brief nap before they jumped into the long night ahead of them.

Lily adjusted her House scarf as she made her way out toward the Quidditch pitch. She could see the Gryffindor team zooming around the air above the stands on their brooms. The sun had almost set on the gray and overcast horizon, making it impossible to discern which of the players was James. Practice would be ending, as supper would soon be served. Lily hoped she would get a chance to talk to James before then.

Waiting for fifteen minutes and adjusting her winter cloak about twice as many times, Lily saw James leading the rest of the Gryffindors off the pitch. He was covered in sweat and grass, looking more than worn but still managed the energy to compliment his team and offer encouraging suggestions for their next practice. The 7th Year female Chaser on the team spotted Lily first and greeted her, this caught James's attention as he dismissed the remaining players.

"Practice went well?" Lily asked casually as she and James both approached one another.

"Yeah, lots of improvement. Hufflepuff's going to be given a run!" James grinned, hoping Lily didn't notice that it was completely forced. He had been so distracted with thoughts of her during practice; James had been debroomed by more than one bludger. "Um, could we walk back to the dorms? I'd like to shower up before dinner."

"Oh! Yes, of course." Lily nodded as they made their ways back into the castle. There was a silence between them as a low rumble of thunder rippled through the air. Lily knew she needed to speak, but found every attempt to say a word get lodged in her throat. Deciding she couldn't stall forever, Lily forced the dialogue up. "There's something I wanted to tell you about, James."

"Go ahead." James wasn't looking at her. He could paraphrase what she would say next. Lily's words weren't important. Only his reaction mattered.

"Severus Snape asked me to attend the Yule Ball with him and I accepted." Lily stated without looking at him either. She didn't know any other way to say what she needed to and figured direct was as good as any. With that out in the open now, Lily braced herself for whatever outburst James would undoubtedly produce in retaliation.

"Okay." James still couldn't look at her as the sounds of other students in the corridor stole away the awkward silence that would have followed. Dumbstruck, Lily wasn't sure how to handle this situation at all. It was as though he either didn't hear or believe her and it was imperative that he understood. Though she had troubles starting the conversation, now she found it impossible to stop talking.

"I just wanted to tell you so you wouldn't have to hear it from anyone else first." Lily explained a little more quickly than she liked.

"Sirius told me before practice, but thank you for trying to tell me yourself." James replied apathetically, still staring ahead. James lapsed into another long silence.

Lily silently cursed Black for his flapping tongue but didn't know what made her believe he wouldn't run and tell his best friend all about it. But Lily couldn't figure out how James was remaining so calm if he had known about this for hours. People, least of all people like James, were well adjusted enough to process and accept such a bombshell in such little time. It didn't seem like him and it was disturbing Lily exceptionally.

"That's all you have to say about this?" Lily inquired as her green eyes searched James's face for any break in this detached expression.

"Yes it is." James responded quietly before pressing his lips together.

Realizing that James had every intention of continuing their conversation like this, Lily grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into an empty classroom. Closing the door behind them, James sighed as he kept his head hung facing towards the ground. Sensing a confrontation coming on, James wasn't certain if he could handle it.

"How did you want me to react, Lily?" James finally glanced at her.

"With emotion." Lily requested with a concerned look to her. "I was hoping we could talk about this a bit. I don't want things to be like . . . well, like this."

"How do you want things to be then?" James's even tone never faltered but his eyes flared as he spoke. "Do you want me to cry? Be jealous? Furious? Vindictive?"

James threw his broom to the floor, causing Lily to jump at the noise. He turned his back to her, running his hands through his hair and began speaking to the wall.

"In all honesty, I'd LOVE to do any and all of those things at the moment but I won't." James voice shook a bit with this. Risking a step closer to James, Lily kept her hands locked in front of her.

"Then why don't you?" Lily pressed. "You have every right."

"That's just the thing." James said as he turned back, facing Lily. "I really don't. So I'm not." This took Lily aback.

"How do you figure that?" Lily breathed. To her surprise, James laughed a little and came closer to her, somewhat awkwardly.

"Because, as much as I dislike it, I don't have any claim on you and you owe nothing to me." James said with a sad grin. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. You're free to go to the dance with Snape or anyone else you care to and I can't force otherwise."

"He and I are just going as friends - " Lily rationalized but James placed a hand over her lips gently to silence her.

"Stop." He requested still smiling. "I told you, that you don't have to justify anything. It's entirely your business."

The tips of James's fingers lingered for a moment, then slowly traced down Lily's lips and her chin before he brought his hand back to him. He clenched it into a fist and turned away from Lily slightly. James crouched to retrieve his broom and started to make his way out of the room. Lily felt like crying. She didn't understand why James wasn't storming up to her yelling bloody murder or finding Snape to fight with or just avoiding her altogether. It wasn't that she had wanted him to do any of these things, but they just seemed like the only rational things for James to do. Lily turned to him before James's hand reached the handle of the door.

"I thought you said you were going to fight for me." Lily blurted out without knowing why, causing James to freeze in mid motion.

She gasped and wished she could have taken back those words for all the gold in Gringott's. It made her sound as though she were trying deliberately to toy with his emotions, which was anything but true. In fact, Lily had said it because she was so desperately afraid that this meant he no longer cared about her. That in two days, James could go from being in love with her to not caring about anything she did. The thoughts of such ambivalence hurt Lily more than she thought anything ever could and she had no clue what to do about it.

James propped his broom against the wall and turned back toward Lily. He walked right up to Lily until there was only a breath between the two of them. Staring down at her with an expression of torment rather than the anger or frustration the Lily had anticipated, James took the side of her face into the palm of his hand.

"Is that what you want me to do, Lily? Fight for you?" James asked barely over a whisper. Lily's lips moved but no words came out because she had none. She had no idea how to respond to this since she had never intended to start this conversation in the first place.

"If I asked you not to go. . .if I begged you. . .if I forbade you . . .would it make you go back to Snape and retract your word?" James leaned his forehead against Lily's as he closed his eyes. "I really don't think so . . .so why bother putting either of us through that then?"

Lily felt her breaths grow short as she closed her eyes with James, fighting off the tears. She found herself crying entirely too much in front of James Potter these days.

"I'm not doing this to hurt you, James." Lily assured in her most desperate voice. "I just don't know what to think about us."

"Neither do I." James admitted. "But it's all I do anyway. Go with Snape to the ball. I can't tell you that I won't care but I can say that my feelings for you haven't changed."

It was then she felt James's mouth press over hers. It was a cautious kiss, as though he fully expected her to shove him away or protest some how, but to both their surprise Lily didn't. It was slow and tender and much too short, as it seemed to Lily that James stopped when he had only just begun. He pulled her into a tight embrace, deeply inhaling the scent of her red hair before releasing her. James looked at her fondly.

"And now I know yours haven't changed for me either." James smiled slightly. Lily felt a flush upon her cheeks as she grew more than shy at the moment. "I guess then I'll just have to work on the things keeping them at arms length." James went back to where he had left his broom before glancing back at Lily

"Um, I know it will be late and all, but I was wondering if I could talk after Astronomy tonight?" James inquired as he started to open the door out into the corridor. "I have a couple of things I need to explain to you that I can't do here."

Beyond curious, Lily felt herself nod.

"Alright." Lily agreed. "Where then?"

"The attic in Gryffindor tower." James decided. "Well, I'll see you then." And with that, James joined the stream of students in the hall.

Lily sighed and leaned against the desk.

"Life shouldn't be this complicated." Lily determined while surveying the empty room as though she expected to find someone there with her.

She knew that she did feel something for James but couldn't ever act upon it so long as there were secrets between them. Not only that, but she couldn't back out of her commitment to attend the Ball with Snape just because she received a more favorable offer. Also, Lily was certain Arabella was still in the dark about what was happening between her and James and couldn't keep snogging behind her friend's back in clear conscious. But in spite of her more than distressing situation, Lily couldn't help but smile.

After all, how unmanageable could things be if James still cared about her?

Clattering and chatting echoed through the Great Hall as three of the four Marauders helped themselves to supper as they awaited James. After a light nap and the minimal refreshment derived from it, Sirius was back to brooding about James, Lily, and Snape, occasionally sharing a comment with his other friends. Remus invested most of his energy into his beef stew, pondering to himself. He also couldn't help but notice how uncharacteristically sedated Arabella seemed to be while she shared a meal with Lily. For his part, Peter tried to get a lighter conversation going at the table.

After Sirius threw out his umpteenth opinion on the subject, Remus decided to interject one of the thoughts he had been entertaining.

"Not that I'm complaining about it, mind you," Remus clarified as he led in. "But why the sudden change, Padfoot. I mean, you go from throwing down the gauntlet in front of James to fighting on his behalf all in the span of a day." Remus didn't want to be suspicious of Sirius since he seemed completely committed to helping out their mutual friend, but it unfortunately begged the question.

"Yeah, I know it's all sudden." Sirius admitted awkwardly. "Instead of wallowing, I figure if I throw myself head long into helping out James, I'll be too distracted to worry about being miserable. In all honesty, I reckon I'd have been cross a lot longer if Peter hadn't put things into perspective for me."

Peter nearly spit out the food in his mouth at this.

"Wait a second? I actually HELPED matters for once?" Peter chocked out in disbelief.

"Well, what did you say?" Remus demanded, but Peter was to busy beaming like an idiot to answer.

"Wormtail got me to really think about the whole situation." Sirius explained. "He asked me if I was as serious about Lily as James was and just told me if I was the friend I claimed to be for James than I should be happy for him . . .and, well Peter was right."

"Good show, mate!" Remus toasted Peter approvingly. Peter seemed to blush a little at this.

"Well, I was due." Peter attempted to be modest.

James trotted up the length of the table, sharing a quick exchange with Lily and Arabella before he sat himself next to Sirius and nodded to Peter and Remus who were across from them.

"Evening bastards, enjoy your nap?" James asked in a joking and envious sort of way. The other three Mauraders exchanged some uncertain glances as they all turned their eyes on James. Aware of the sudden attention, James raised an eyebrow to his friends. "Yes?"

"It's just, well, you're in high spirits is all." Remus observed in a confused voice. "We just weren't expecting this sort of reaction." This prompted James to laugh a bit.

"I've been getting that A LOT today!" James informed as he helped himself to a roll. This invited yet another exchange of looks.

"You DID tell him, didn't you?" Peter asked Sirius earnestly.

"Well I didn't imagine the conversation!" Sirius exclaimed before turning to James. "I reckon Prongs has just cracked under the strain of it all."

"I'M NOT DEAF!" James announced, appalled that he needed to. "And I'm not angry or miserable . . .okay well maybe a bit of both, but nothing I can't handle."

"He's denying his denial." Remus reported and was answered with a roll to the head.

"I. Am. Not." James assured. "I'm just accepting that this is one of the few things beyond my control. I'll only make things worse if I go about imposing my will. And the SAME goes for all of you!" James emphasized his words by pointing a butter knife at each of his friends before he started to slice his fresh roll.

"So we're not to do a thing about Lily and Snape going to the ball together?" Sirius confirmed in disbelief.

"Not unless you wish to taste my fury." James shrugged. "Also there's something I need to ask you guys about. I want to show Lily our map and I'd like to address any objections here and now."

Peter and Sirius looked as though they might have a few, but Remus only smiled with an impressed and approving expression.

"Are you kidding?" Peter demanded.

"Prongs, we've spent our ENTIRE Hogwarts career making that thing!" Sirius groaned. "And you're planning to hand it over to a Prefect just because you fancy her!"

"No, I'm planning on showing it to LILY and it's not like I'm letting her keep it." James replied in a disappointed tone. "She wants me to stop hiding things from her so I figured that if I showed her the map and my cloak it would prove to her that I'm willing to make the effort. I mean, outside of the Marauders, she would be the only one to know they even exist."

"You can't show her the cloak!" Peter protested. "How will we get about?"

"It's MINE and I'm free to do with it as I wish!" James reminded. "Besides, Wormtail, you should be fine so long as you watch out for Miss Norris."

"Well a forth of the map belongs to me and I say I'm fine with it." Remus shrugged as he went back to his stew. Sirius and Peter sighed as the stared silently at one another before looking at James.

"Alright." Sirius relented. "Just try not to let her memorize it or anything."

"Yeah." Peter chimed in with a slightly whiney tone. "When do I get to start betraying our secrets to people I'm trying to get in good with?"

In the Gryffindor common room, James Sirius, Remus, and Peter were each tutoring small clusters of younger students after dinner. Professor McGonagall stopped in to check on her House and seemed a more than a little surprised by the scene before her.

"Why, it's so rare to see you four doing something that isn't deviant I'm not sure how to process this information." McGonagall observed in an almost teasing tone. "To what do we owe this miracle?"

"The strong recommendations of our Prefect." Remus smirked as he proofread a couple essays some 2nd Years had due in Defense Against the Dark Arts. McGonagall smiled and nodded approvingly as the left the Gryffindors to themselves for the remainder of the evening.

Just as he finished supervising several 1st Years turn millipedes into millimeter rulers, Arabella approached James and asked for a moment of his time.

"Certainly, Arabella." James grinned as he turned to his 1st Years. "Why don't you three try changing them back on your own, I'll be back in a couple of minutes to see how you're coming along."

James followed Arabella as she led him up the dormitory stairs, stopping on a landing. He was tempted to question what was on her mind, but she had the same gloomy look she's been harboring half the day and decided not to press her. She removed a single photograph from her robes and passed it into James's hands.

"I was developing my pictures to day." Arabella explained, slightly looking away. "I saw this and . . .well I thought you might want it."

James examined the picture from Hogsmeade and watched how the images of himself and Lily were behaving towards one another. It felt as though James had suddenly been winded as he glanced to Arabella wordless.

"If you're trying to think of some sort of explanation or apology, there's no need." Arabella assured with a weak smile. "You made it clear that we were just friends because you fancied someone else. And I'm sure you had your reasons for not telling me it was Lily. I just wanted to see if the way things are in this picture are the way things are now."

Arabella had told him not to feel bad, but James found it hard to resist his guilty emotions. In truth, there was little he could have done to make his intentions for Arabella any clearer aside from coming out and admitting what he felt for Lily, but he had only done that with his friends just a couple of days ago. James had planned to talk to Arabella that night and explain things to her, but this certainly wasn't how he had intended for things to come to a head. Still, he had to be honest.

"Yes, they are, Arabella." James croaked out. Taking Arabella's hand, James stared at her with a tragic expression. "I never meant to hurt you with any of this and I know Lily didn't either. Somewhere along the lines, things just stopped being so simple to explain."

Arabella nodded as she inhaled a deep breath.

"I imagine." Arabella sympathized. "Don't worry; I don't really have much of desire to bare a grudge against either of you. It seems like everyone's been trying to set me straight on all this anyway . . .well except for Sirius Black, the peddler of false hope and vomit producing drinks. I think I shall like to kick Sirius."

James had to laugh.

"No please don't." James requested. "He only found out a day ago himself. I know I should have mentioned something to the both of you a lot sooner, but I didn't want to raise an alarm if Lily didn't share my feelings."

"Does she?' Arabella asked with interest.

"Yes, I believe so." James admitted.

"I think you two should attend the Ball together." Arabella spoke in a relenting sigh. She perked up slightly as she added. "I've been saying for months that you two should be spending time together that didn't end in strangling and swears. In fact, I was saying initially that I thought you two should have just gotten together period."

"I appreciate how amazingly understanding and gracious you're being about all this, Arabella, but I won't be taking Lily to the ball." James shook his head. A look of concern washed over Arabella's face at this.

"If you're saying this on my behalf, don't!" Arabella insisted. "I mean, I have every intention of doing some heartfelt wallowing over this but that's more of a pathetic-girl-with-a-few-dozen-cats thing that you shouldn't concern yourself with!"

"You're not pathetic . . .you just have a very intense fixation we're all trying SO desperately to understand." James assured affectionately with a smile. "She's going with Snape."

Arabella reacted as though James had just said something horrifically appalling to her.

"Bloody hell she is!" Arabella cried in disbelief and waited for James to show he was joking around. When he gave no indication of such, Arabella pondered this with a most disturbed expression.

"Now I had lied a bit when I said I wasn't going to be cross at the two of you over all this . . ." Arabella muttered more to herself before a broad smile broke across her face. "But now that I hear you've been thrown over for you Slytherin rival and Lily's going to ACTUALLY have to spend an entire night waltzing with that cold-blooded git . . .who can be mad?"

Arabella broke into fits of laughter while pointing at James. He might have been offended or even angered by this if he didn't have this coming so deservedly and actually saw the humor in it as well. After she regained her breath Arabella gazed at James, her eyes wet with fresh tears.

"Whew! It felt SO grand to laugh like that." Arabella sighed. "Thanks James."

"It's what I'm here for." James snickered along. The two Gryffindors stared at one another and it seemed to be determined that they would remain friends after all.

"I meant it when I said I wanted you to have that picture. Maybe it will be the first of many nice ones of you two. After all, you can never have too many happy memories lying about." Arabella commented with a bit of a wink. "Speaking of which, I think I'll find either Sirius or Remus and see if they want to share a giggle at your expense."

"Have fun then." James said sarcastically, but he was more than overjoyed that Arabella was going to be fine with all this.

"Oh I will." Arabella promised. "But, since you're freed up for the ball, fancy taking me? Hadn't really considered any options besides you so I'd be hard up to find a decent date at this point."

"Um . . ." James hadn't really expected Arabella to be even talking to him let alone wanting to go to the ball with him and wasn't sure how to reply.

"James, don't over think it." Arabella instructed. "I was planning on asking you under the "just friends" banner anyway. It doesn't mean anything more than you helping a fellow Gryffindor out of a pinch."

"Well, then, okay!" James decided and smiled slightly relieved.

"Alright, see you about then." Arabella waved as she headed back to the common room. James put his hands into his pockets before marveling over his good fortune with everyone important to him today. Unbeknownst to him, James guessed he was a social genius only when operating on no sleep and headed back to finish his tutoring before he was expected for Astronomy.

It was nearing 1:30 in the morning when Lily made her way to the attic of Gryffindor tower. She had her winter cloak around her since the attic was more than drafty with its exposed section of ceiling. Forgetting to remove the school bag she had used in Astronomy off her shoulder, Lily would just have to make an effort to remember brining it back down with her. She opened the door and found James waiting, still in uniform (though minus the tie) and wearing his cloak as well. There was some bundle at his feet and Lily wondered if he had forgotten to leave his bag in his room as well.

"Hey." James greeted as he watched the sky. It had been only partially clear for class that night and it appeared to be taking a turn for the worst. "How are you?"

"I had a bizarre encounter with Arabella just before class. She just started pointing and cackling like some mad hag!" Lily reported with a perplexed expression as she shook her head. "That girl gets odder by the day."

"I told her about us." James stated. "More appropriately, she figured it out and just wanted me to confirm."

"What did you tell her?" Lily was curious what "us" meant in the mind of James Potter.

"That I fancied you . . .thought you fancied me back." Was James's response.

"I can't say I'd thought she'd be laughing one she heard." Lily admitted confused, but relieved.

"Like you said, she's an odd one, luckily for us." The corner of James's mouth went up in a quirky grin. Lily threw a shy one back.

She wondered why James had asked her up there and was beginning to wonder if he was speaking in code for a snog. Not entirely certain if she'd be opposed to the idea, Lily strolled over to where James was in the attic and set her bag down.

"So . . .what did you want to see me about?" Lily asked expectantly.

"I've been thinking about what you said…about me not trusting you and keeping things from you." James started. "And I've come to the conclusion that you're right and I wasn't being fair when I was asking for you to be with me but wasn't willing to trust you enough to be apart of my world. So I've decided to resolve that matter."

He bent down and pulled up a long and silvery shroud, displaying it for Lily. She glanced at it curiously, evidently unsure of what to make of the garment.

"You had asked me about how I managed to watch you that first night back, it was wrong of me not to tell you so I'm going to try and make up for it now by showing you." James explained. "This is something that's been in the Potter family for generations. It's woven from the hair of the Demiguise." James gestured to the strange, silvery looking material of the item.

"Demiguise? You mean the ape-like creatures whom can turn invisible as a defensive measure?" Lily asked, recalling her Care for Magical Creatures text. James nodded, evidently impressed by her memory for obscure information. No sooner had James started to throw the cloak around himself did he vanish from Lily's sight. Her eyes went wide as she gasped for effect.

"An invisibility cloak!" Lily breathed in awe.

She could hear the creak of the floorboards around her, but had no idea exactly where James was until she felt something tug on a lock of her hair that nearly made her jump out of her skin. Lily spun around with every intention of slapping the hand away from her but found herself grasping only air. She heard James snicker before he pulled the cloak off.

"So that's how you were watching me!" Lily felt herself blush upon realizing that James had physically been in her room with her all that night and she had only the foggiest of ideas someone was even there.

"Oh, I pretty much spy on everyone and sneak about with this." James beamed, evidently impressed with himself. Lily felt her lips form into a pout as she crossed my arms.

"So you could have been watching me anytime doing anything at all and I wouldn't have known." Lily cried indignantly. "You common voyeur!"

"Hey!" James protested, offended. "There's nothing COMMON about this! How many people do YOU know with an invisibility cloak?"

"Aside from the randy git I'm looking at whose been ogling me for who knows how long?" Lily demanded, still shocked.

"ItoldyouIsawnothing!" James reiterated this point through a hissed before folding the cloak. "Okay, but now you know it exists and I assure you on the honor of my family name that I have not used it to spy on you since that night you caught me and have no intention of doing so here after. My only request is that you not let word get out about it . . .if it's not confiscated I'll be blamed for everything through probable cause and opportunity."

"Fine." Lily agreed, coming down from her embarrassed high. "So now I know how you get about."

"Oh, that just keeps me undetected." James corrected as he walked over to Lily holding out a section of parchment. "THIS is how I get about."

Lily accepted the paper and examined it but found it was completely blank. Lily was about to accuse James of pulling her leg until his voice cut in.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." James recited, commanding a map to materialize before them. Lily's eyes scanned what was most obviously the layout of Hogwarts castle with a few places she didn't even know existed. Two icons titled LILY EVANS and JAMES POTTER were located at the top of Gryffindor tower. It also appeared to keep track of James's friends, many of the boys' rivals, and most of the faculty. After he though Lily got a good enough look at the map, James deactivated it. "Mischief managed." And the parchment went blank.

"Neat huh?" James grinned as he took the map back from Lily and put it into his robes. "Just finished it last term with Sirius, Remus, and Peter."

"That is really impressive!" Her tone indicated that she truly meant it. "So you just sneak about with this map and the cloak? Is that what you four were up to the evening before?"

"Yeah, you know, boys being boys." James's tone was casual and unimpressive as he shrugged, hoping she'd buy it.

Although Remus had given him permission to do so, James still refused to reveal his friends condition to Lily as he had no idea how she would react. He also omitted the fact he was an animage since it could accidentally lead to reveling that Sirius and Peter were as well and they were such illegally. James convinced himself this wasn't lying on a technicality and had every intention to share both these facts with Lily someday, if they possessed a relationship that warranted such a revelation.

"Is there anything ELSE I should know?" Lily pressed.

"Well, Peter sings show tunes in his sleep but that's really neither here nor there." James smirked, causing Lily to laugh. "No, I think this is the most you need and deserve to know about me at the moment. Unless you care to offer up any personal details of your own, which I'd promise my undivided attention to by the way."

"No, this actually speaks volumes, James." Lily assured. "Thank you."

"Well, I really want to work things out between us." James replied sincerely.

"I know and I appreciate the efforts wholly." Lily led in. "But I still can't go to the ball with you – "

"Yeah, I know that. We talked about it this afternoon." James nodded. "I didn't show you all this in some bid to sway your decision. I don't want you breaking your word to other people…or in this case, Snape . . .just because I finally stopped being a prat. My only intention with all this is to give a clear shot to maybe something later on."

"You're saying you're planning to wait around on me?" Lily questioned since this didn't sound like the usual James Potter. He seemed more than prepared to rush head long into a relationship only a few days ago but now he was talking about postponing things.

"Well, I'm kind of without an option at the moment." James stated obviously. "I mean, even if it is Snape, not very proper and wouldn't speak well of either our reputations if we were fooling about. We don't need half the school getting the wrong idea about us and I don't want any relationship we have being remembered as starting on that kind of tawdry note. That and there's Sirius and Arabella to think about. They're doing their best to be supportive and selfless through all this, but I think it's still a bit soon to make things so glaringly obvious for them. Incidentally, I'm going to the ball with Arabella, just as friends of course."

"I'm sure she'll like that." Lily said approvingly. She felt a small stab of jealousy but considering how well James was taking her going to the ball with Snape, Lily decided she had no room to speak on the matter. "So I guess we're more or less close friends at the moment as well."

"Umm . . .yeah." James agreed, seeing that as the most accurate description of their relationship at the moment. "But close friends, like us, can have friendly snogging sessions, right?"

"Do you and Sirius?" Lily laughed at James's effort.

"If I said yes . . ." James asked thoughtfully.

" . . .then I would wonder about the two of you a bit." Lily laughed some more.

"Okay, fine." James surrendered. "What can close friends do together then?"

"Well, I'd say they could do their Astronomy homework up here together since they can't enjoy the other uses for the stargazing attic." Lily considered. "But it looks like it's about to storm, making it impossible to see the moon, never mind the stars."

"Well, we could stay up and wait to see if they come back out so long as the Prefect doesn't catch wind." James joked, prompting Lily to chuckle a bit.

"I can keep a secret." Lily nodded before a slight amount of concern crossed her face. "But you look as though you haven't gotten much sleep."

Lily couldn't fathom how, after a match and practice session of Quidditch, waiting all night for her in her room, sneaking out to who knows where with his friends, and spending the entire day in classes or studying, James had managed this long.

"I guess . . .some things are worth staying up for." James smiled. "When you're asleep, the world could change overnight and leave you to sort it all out in the morning. If you're awake . . .maybe you'll get a say in it all."

"I suppose." Lily agreed with a grin.

The two settled onto the floor, drawing their cloaks tighter around themselves against the night air. With a sigh, Lily rested her head on James's shoulder and James put an arm around her in return. The two watched the churning sky quietly, their materials for Astronomy laid untouched beside them. Lighting illuminated parts of the cloud cover like dim, flashing bulbs with the sound of thunder echoing the flare. The faint drumming of rain against the school served as constant white noise for James and Lily.

After half an hour of watching the skies in silence, Lily turned to James with his arm still draped over her shoulders.

"You know, I don't think it's going to let up." Lily predicted.

"It's not. Peter told me earlier it's expected to rain straight on for days." James confirmed.

"Then why did you suggest we wait it out?" Lily raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, I would have said about anything to keep you up here a little longer." James grinned to himself.

Lily rolled her eyes at how naïve she could be at times, but made no effort to leave.

"Prat. You're lucky we're friends."

"Yup."

And such was the first, pleasant sleepless night Lily and James had on account of one another.


	13. Quantity and Qualities

Quantity and Qualities

By: Oy! Angelina

1976, Nov. 12th

Dear James:

From the sounds of things it appears that you will, in fact, be spending winter holiday over at Hogwarts, but do send an Owl if I'm incorrect in this. I will not lie in saying that it wouldn't have been a pleasure to have you stay over, but you're entering the time in your life that will define what the rest of it shall amount to. Do keep me posted on any developments, for the better or the worst, James, for I am always interested. As I'm fortunately still young enough to not be shocked by the attics and angst accustom to adolescents, I'd like you to consider me as more of an older brother than a guardian to you since they tend to be the more approachable sort when one has questions about life. Trust me when I say there are few embarrassing antidotes you could share that I couldn't name a half dozen Longbottoms to be guilty of as well!

I trust you have plans for your birthday well under way, what I wouldn't give to be turning seventeen once again. If you happen upon the time, I would like very much to hear from you before the holidays since a month seems to be more than enough time for things to change in a boy's life and few could ever tell a story like a Potter.

Happy Christmas,

Frank Longbottom

p.s. Expect an Owl with a fresh plum cake for the holidays.

1976, Dec. 18th

Dear Frank:

Thank you for the fond birthday wishes. I did have fun! We had a modest party (catering on behalf of Honeydukes) in the Gryffindor commons. Same fun we had with the Quidditch party with only half the amount of retching, all candy induced this time as Peter and Sirius have more than learned their lessons. Lily gave me a friendly peck on the cheek and I swooned for near an hour until Sirius got it into his head that I needed a visit form "the bucket of cold-water fairy." Sirius is expected to recover fully from the massive blunt trauma he endured shortly after and will, in no way, impair his talent for being a jackass.

While the few weeks before winter holiday always seemed to drag on for me in the past, I've found them to pass with the blink of an eye this year. Most of the students have gone home for the break in term to be with their loved ones, but many still remain so as to attend the Yule festivities or because don't really have better plans otherwise. It would have been nice to have a traditional Christmas with the Longbottom family but, as you have guessed, my plans dictate otherwise. Don't fret, I won't be alone since all those I'm close with, being Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, will be spending the holidays with me and I'm sure we'll have fun with our time together. And you're right, a month is more than enough time for things to change in a young person's life and my fortune seems to be all for the better as of late.

Lily and I are getting along smashingly, but in a "just friends" sort of way. It's not ideal, admittedly, but we both recognize that things would probably be worse before better if we pursued a closer relationship presently. We've resolved virtually all the differences keeping up apart and spent our first peaceful night together watching some storms in the Gryffindor attic only a few days before I received your Owl. Of course, there was an inquisition to be faced amongst my friends the morning after.

For some unspecified reason, Remus Lupin believes I'm a master of seduction whom is privy to many torrid affairs whenever I happen to be absent from my bed. Never minding my general awkwardness, I insisted that I was far too sleep deprived (since I hadn't slept in three days at this point) to do anything remotely like what he was suggesting with Lily. There is now a new rule amongst my circle of friends explicitly stating that they are not to insinuate anything explicit of me if I'm out all night. Meaning, 'James's isn't in bed' does not equal 'James is off shagging in someone else's bed like the randy wizard stallion he is' henceforth!

This will last all of thirty seconds, I reckon.

What took more of an effort to eventually convince my friends of the nature of my and Lily's relationship. They figured us for being coy when we announced that we were only close friends for the time being but when we did nothing to deviate from the part, they were forced to face the mediocre truth of it all. Lily and I don't do much aside from chatting and studying together, but it's more than enough for me. You know you're in good company when they can make watching the grass grow seem like bloody excellent fun. Sometimes we get off by ourselves but mostly we're in the company of our friends or some of the Gryffindor I've been tutoring. Don't assume this to be some act of altruism on my part as Lily wrangled the lot of us into it as penance for being…well us, but I'd be lying if I claimed to hate it. It's making us popular with Hogwarts outside of what fame we've earned through troublemaking and brashness and the professors seem to more than appreciate it.

Because of all the time we spend together and all the good she's got me doing just through knowing her, I've got half the Gryffindors (and my own friends) completely baffled on why I'm not insisting upon taking Lily Evans to the ball on Christmas. Oh, by the way, she's attending with Severus Snape, a nasty Slytherin (I know, is there any other kind?) who has all the pigmentation of a black and white photograph and will probably despise me well after I'm dead so he won't have to feel as though he wasted his youth! This is who the woman dearest to me will be attending with and I have to say that it doesn't bother me one bit!

Not because, that's actually true, mind you, I just have to say it so I don't do something both stupid and exceptionally Potter-esque in retaliation to it.

For the time being, this serves as the dark secret of the Gryffindors, since myself, my friends, and a girl (whom incidentally is my date to the ball as well) by the name of Arabella Figg are the only ones who know. Seeing it as a matter of House honor, we're keeping this on the mum and thankfully Lily and Snape seem to be of a similar disposition. Lily, because she's a proper woman who believes most of the details involving her personal life are distributed on a need-to-know basis and Snape, because one would require a Veritaserum to get anything out of that git. I should specify that NOBODY cares about Snape's personal life since we are all convinced he simply crawls out from beneath a rock to attend lessons and give me a new reason every day to break some kind of bone in his body (which I never do, mind you).

It will be less than a week before both Christmas and the ball come upon Hogwarts and I must confess I'm looking forward to it eagerly. Not so much for all that will be going on during the 25th of December but for everything that comes after. I plan on asking Lily to be my girlfriend properly, since I need to do something decent by her after my royal job of mucking it up (even for a Potter!) as if late. It's unlikely she'll reject me and I can only hope this will be the beginning of a many splendid things for the both of us.

I'll let you know how this works out for me; of course you and the rest of the Wizarding world (and possibly a Muggle or two) will be able to hear the whooping if Lily agrees.

Anyway, enjoy your holiday and I look forward to your traditional plum cake. I've sent ahead an Owl carrying a brick of Hogsmeade's famous chocolate, since I remember you saying how much you fancied them when you attended Hogwarts yourself.

Take care, my surrogate older brother,

James Potter

As dawn introduced Christmas morning, Gryffindor tower awoke with strings of hooting and well wishing as they opened their gifts from relations and congregated in the common room to exchange ones amongst themselves. Good on his word, Frank had sent a plumb cake to James for the holidays, which he freely passed around to his Housemates to enjoy with him as they unwrapped gifts. The presents that were distributed between friends weren't out of the ordinary (by wizarding standards) but were overall enjoyed with typically a lot of thought invested into them.

The Marauders pretty much bought out Zonko's for their gifts to one another and bought Arabella and Lily sweets from Honeydukes since they doubted they'd much enjoy things that exploded or produced offensive odors. Lily had gotten Arabella cat slippers that felt like they purred when they walked, which Arabella wore with pride and viciously pummeled any who had a disparaging comment about them (i.e. Sirius and James). Arabella gave Lily a talking hand-mirror so she could get a second opinion on her appearance in the morning since she lived alone. Lily was initially disturbed by this, but found herself more than flattered by most of the things the looking glass had to say.

When it came time for them to exchange presents, Lily handed James a deep, rectangular box outfitted in their House colors. Within as a set of Quidditch wrist guards and gloves that (as Lily explained) adjusted to the temperature around them so the wear's hands would never be cold or sweaty. They also had a few defensive charms on them. One ensured that so long as a hand remained on the handle of the broom, the grip would seize up reflexively, preventing the rider from being bucked off unintentionally. The other Charm was for if the wearer was debroomed, then the gloves were enchanted to automatically brace themselves out, hitting the ground first to help their wearer roll into a crouch without injury.

"James will be hard-pressed to bloody himself up during matches with those, Lily." Peter said approvingly. "You've just robbed the boy of his one talent in life."

"Where did you get them?" James demanded as he searched the gloves for some sort of logo or brand name. Being a Quidditch fanatic, James couldn't believe that such gloves existed without him knowing about them before now.

"Well, I got the guards themselves from the Quidditch outfitter out of Hogsmeade." Lily explained. "I've spent the past month putting the Charms on them myself." James could only stare after this.

"That must have been impossible!" Arabella exclaimed in awe of her friend.

"Oh, the Charms were simple." Lily commented. "Now testing them out, THAT was impossible. I had to jump off the bloody roof just to be sure the landing Charm was proper and casted a hurling hex on a school broom to make sure the other worked! Good thing I'm as smart as I think I am or you all would be dressing my comatose body up in tinsel so I wouldn't be left out of the holidays."

James restrained himself from proposing to her right there, but managed to get out "Oh, you're just BRILLIANT!" while he gapped at Lily.

Still reeling from his present, James handed Lily a box she was willing to bet any money on was store wrapped since it was so beautifully done. She almost felt bad removing the tissue and paper before opening the box they shrouded and extracting what she initially assumed was an extraordinarily lightweight snow globe. Upon closer inspection of the domed object, Lily realized it was a magically created model of the solar system, stars, planets, and satellites moving as one expected them to. Overwhelmed with this incredible gift and guilty she hadn't thought of something just as sentimental, Lily turned to James completely dumbstruck and grateful.

"This way you won't have to worry about rainy nights and I'll have to come up with fresh means to keep you about." James smiled shyly, happy that she seemed to really like it. Lily face nearly cracked with how widely she was grinning as she placed the miniature solar system down so she could hug James with both arms. Sirius got up from the sitting area, rolling his eyes as he went to help himself to another slice of plum cake.

"Oh, Merlin's beard! SNOG ALREADY!" Sirius bellowed. "Or do I have to bloody well jump in there, James and show you how?"

James picked up one of his brand new Filibuster Firecrackers and tossed over by Sirius, forcing him to stumble over a couch to avoid a multicolored hot-foot. The Gryffindors laughed hysterically at Sirius's brush with instant karma, except for Lily who jumped to her feet with her fists balled at either side.

"JAMES POTTER!" Lily screeched. "IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK YOU TO REMEMBER OUR 'NO EXPLOSIVES' RULE FOR THE COMMON ROOM OR DO I NEED TO STITCH IT INTO YOUR FLESH!"

The most this accomplished was further laughing, until Lily was forced to join in as well as they headed off to breakfast. At their House table in the Great Hall, an unmarked Owl delivered an additional present to Lily, which was wrapped astoundingly for the holiday. She opened the squat, square box and found a beautiful gold and emerald tiara that would stunningly accent her dress robes at the ball that night. Lily may have questioned who had sent her the gift more (as this wouldn't be the first occasion in her time at Hogwarts to receive a gift from a secret admirer) if James hadn't so deliberately avoided looking at her or the gift at the moment. In truth, it wasn't much of a surprise to anyone, but the Gryffindors decided to treat it as the elephant at the table since that seemed to be the way James preferred it.

As she finished her breakfast while Arabella purred over the jewelry, Lily couldn't help but wonder how many anonymous gifts she had received over the years from James Potter. Before she joined her fellow Gryffindors in a fun filled Christmas day, Lily made an effort to track down Snape to present him with her present for him. It was a book titled "Obscure to Absurd: Potions for All Occasions."

"When I was in your room, I didn't remember seeing this on the shelf and it's a fairly recent release. I noticed a lot of spells we hadn't even heard of in Potions and I figured, if you don't already own it, that you'd at least maybe get a chuckle from it." Lily hoped Snape didn't take he gift as some sort of subtle indication that he needed help in Potions.

To Lily's relief/concern Snape seemed more awkward than anything by the gesture since he probably wasn't used to people putting such thought into his gifts…that is, assuming he ever got anything to begin with. Pulling a box out from his own robes, Snape gave Lily a peacock quill and a blank book to write in. It was a simple present that would have worked for any person, but Lily always placed higher value in the thought of the present rather than the actual gift itself. For Snape to bother in giving her anything at all showed there had been some thought on her behalf.

"I could figure out a potion for immortality with greater ease than what to purchase as a present for a woman." Snape admitted gruffly. Lily smiled as the looked over her gift.

"I think it's very thoughtful." Lily assured warmly. "I guess I'll meet you tonight then out by the courtyard."

"Very well." Snape nodded. "Until then."

And, with that, the two parted ways for the time being, examining the gifts they had received with more care and smiles.

After a quick stop in their common room to acquire warmer clothing, the six Gryffindors joined many of the other students who stayed over for the holidays at Hogwarts at the lake. Mostly frozen over by this point, the ice was magically reinforced around the banks and many of the students enjoyed ice-skating as part of their winter fun. The only condition was that they were mindful of the illuminated hovering red flags outlining the dangerous portions of the ice as the center of the lake. Even with this large section out of bounds, the skaters upon the lake still had more than enough room to move about and could even do laps about the lake if they were so inclined.

"I like ice skating!" Peter declared as he laced up his boots along with the other Gryffindors. "Its one of those simple things in life both Muggles and Wizarding folk can do that's completely on equal footing."

"What if you have enchanted skates though?" Arabella spotted a whole in Peter's argument as she loaded a fresh roll of film into her camera.

"Having a pair of bloody shoes do all the work!" Peter huffed. "Now where's the fun in that!"

"Probably about the same place as repeatedly falling on your ass, much to the delight of the on looking crowd." Remus nodded over toward James and Sirius who would just love to see one of the Marauders fall flat on their back while on the ice. Peter just shrugged as he made his way out to meet Sirius, Lily, and James who were all warming up.

"I'm sure you'll be fine once you're out there and moving, Remus." Arabella wagered, but Remus shook his head.

"I'm not the athlete either Sirius or James is. I'll be lucky if I can stay upon my feet let alone move about." Remus reported. Arabella stood up and started to make her way onto the ice, leaving her camera on the stony bench she had been seated upon.

"Come along then." Arabella beckoned for him to follow her. "Stay by me and I'll make you look good." Arabella winked as she headed towards the ice.

With a reluctant sigh, Remus followed behind the girl. Reaching the shoreline, Arabella had no sooner placed the blade of her skate upon the ice when she stumbled and landed comically on her behind. Remus smirked as he slid out gently next to her.

"You're right, Arabella, you DO make me look good on the ice." Remus joked.

"Well I'm a woman of my word, now aren't I?" Arabella gave a firm pout as she thrust her hand up for Remus to assist in pull her back on her feet, which he did.

Farther out on the ice, Sirius and Peter were talking with the Hufflepuff girls, Debra and Mandy, they had wrangled as their dates for the ball, whom were attractive and sweet for the most part but it was doubtful either boy would be pursuing anything much serious with them after the fact. Still they were being good about socializing with the other 6th Years and left James and Lily off to themselves.

They committed themselves to taking a lap around the boarder of the lake. A majority of the other Hogwarts students on the ice with them were concentrated in the area closest to the castle but James and Lily occasionally passed a few likeminded others from either direction as they skated casually in a circle. They devoted most of their attentions to one another, but would try to spot their friends from time to time.

"Looks like Arabella's subjecting Remus to the horrors of skating with her." Lily observed a quarter of the way around. "I swear she spends more time on the ice than her blades do! Remus isn't half bad though."

"Oh he's positively horrible usually but with Arabella by him, who can possibly tell?" James informed as the two shared a grin. "Your form happens to be really good, by the way."

"I did a lot of ice skating as a child. Guess it stuck with me." Lily shrugged.

"Who the hell was talking about ice skating?" James raised an eyebrow at Lily with a grin over his lips.

Lily rolled her eyes for walking into that one and batted at James in retaliation. James effortlessly avoided her attack by dodging to the side and started skating backwards just ahead of Lily so he could look at her while talking. Somehow he always managed to stay just out of her reach like this.

"See if HAD complimented your skating, I'd feel really foolish about it now as I watch you in action." James teased. "Fortunately, you're always fetching to me so I can stand by my words."

Refusing to be further baited by James since he evidently the attention seeking type (never mind what attention), Lily gave up her attempts to swipe at him and just resigned to skating and enjoying the winter view.

"You're quite the flirt, aren't you?" Lily demanded with a small smirk.

"Only with you." James replied. Lily rolled her eyes at this line, but James shook his head. "No seriously, I really don't come onto girls all that often. I'm pretty terrible at it usually."

"We'll you're not all that great at it now." Lily teased a bit of her own. James pretended to look offended and rejoined Lily at her side.

"That's only because we're just acting as friends." James boasted sarcastically. "If I had truly wanted you, you'd be mine by now. You're just not my type, I'm afraid."

"Oh really?" Lily smirked. "Didn't know that you could afford to be so picky."

"Well, when you're rich, the women pretty much come at you like bludgers." James couldn't keep up a straight face any longer and had to laugh. "I don't know what it is about you Lily. I guess when you start off on the entirely wrong foot with a person and if they're still willing to be around you after the fact, well it takes a lot of the pressure off trying to impress them all the time."

"So you're saying you feel like you can be yourself easier around me?" Lily concluded.

"Yeah, you're probably the only person this side of Sirius who knows me best." James nodded. "I'm not saying I'm a phony with everyone else, I just get lost in being brash and sarcastic so much that it's all people can think of me as."

"For what it's worth, I can relate." Lily smiled sympathetically. "You're probably the closest thing I've had to a genuine friend here at Hogwarts, well, and Arabella. Most of the other students act as though I'm completely unapproachable. Just because I happen to be attractive or intelligent or a Prefect, I feel like I'm at arms length with people because they think I'm impossible to relate to."

"Maybe you are." James suggested which provoked a quizzical look from Lily. "You're a special and blessed kind of person all around, Lily. How can you expect everyone to get along famously with you? The last thing you need is a bunch of 'friends' who are secretly intimidated or envious of you just because you happen to be better in certain respects."

"So I should resign myself to being alone?" Lily groaned.

"No, I'm saying keep in mind life is about quality, not quantity. I mean, what's the point of saying you have a hundred friends if there isn't a single one whose loyal to you when things are down or you can confide in when you need to most." James corrected. "Would it be so bad if your truest friends were just myself and the four other people we came out here with today? And maybe that git, Snape but I can't pretend to see the appeal in all that."

"Well, thank you for giving me a perspective I hadn't considered." Lily felt slightly brightened by all this. She leaned over and kissed James on the cheek. He smiled and briefly closed his eyes at the gesture.

"So, can close friends hold hands while ice skating?" James inquired as he held one of his own out for Lily. She accepted it with a small squeeze.

"I reckon it's alright since Remus and Arabella are doing the same…" Lily glanced across the way. "Oh, my mistake…Arabella was just taking Remus to the ice with her."

Still, Lily left her hand, amongst other things, in the possession of James.

After it was felt enough camera film and time had been spent on skating (or falling about in the cases of Arabella and Remus) the six Gryffindors returned to the castle to curl up by the common room fire and spend a leisurely afternoon together before it came time to get ready for the ball. The Marauders abandoned the girls briefly with the promises of returning with pots of tea and hot chocolate along with some pastries to snack on after a short visit with the House Elves in the school kitchen.

Waltzing triumphantly into the House common room, each with a tray of drinks or food, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter found Lily on the couch with a book in front of and a blanket over her while Arabella laid on the floor with a quill and parchment before her, scribbling something down.

"You bloody traitors!" Sirius glared. "We leave you alone for ten minutes to bring you hot chocolate and you're doing homework? What does this look like, a Ravenclaw Christmas party?"

"It's Divination." Arabella's face resembled a cat that had just smelled something unappealing. "If it barely qualifies as a subject I don't think it's all that fair to call what we're doing homework."

"What are you doing?" Peter asked as he placed his tray on a coffee table with the other boys mimicking the action.

"We're supposed to make predictions through astrology." Arabella couldn't fight back a yawn. "Our assignment over holiday is to study the sun signs of people and tell them how they are expected to relate to one another because of when they were born. Just more of Trelawney's doomsaying in my opinion. We are expected to do each sign at least once. That's what Lily and I were up to when you four came in."

As she explained, Sirius passed Arabella a mug and took a tray of cookies with him as he and Remus sat on either side of the girl near the fire. Peter took one of the chairs, overlooking the group while James brought Lily a mug. He ended up sitting with Lily leaning into him as he kept an arm around her, reading her Divination text over her shoulder.

"Why not let us help you out, a bit?" James offered with a sip of his chocolate. "At least you'd have a few more signs to throw in there."

"Didn't take you as the type to believe in Divination." Lily commented.

"Oh I don't!" James confirmed with a condescending laugh, but caught Lily's eye and cleared his throat. "But, if it will help you out, I suppose I can ignore that for now."

"I find it fascinating personally." Remus stated with a somewhat amused expression. "I've always been of the mind that celestial bodies have a way of determining our fortunes." Sirius, Peter, and James tried not to share a knowing look between them. Remus put a little bit of faith into astronomy on account of his condition as a werewolf, but past that he harbored the same skepticism of as James and Sirius on the matter of divination.

"How do you and Lily get along as far as the stars are concerned?" Peter questioned politely with interest. In truth, he had wanted to take Divination but went along with his three friends in Care for Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies since they expressed no interest outside of making fun of fortune-telling and he didn't want to feel like the odd one out anymore than he already happened to.

"Well, I'm a Capricorn and Arabella's and Aquarius." Lily began.

"So start your shopping now, boys." Arabella joked.

"We're doomed to drive one another off. It basically says that I'm a domineering personality who can come off as aloof in respects to Arabella's free-spirit nature and massive attention deficit disorder." Lily said with a frown. James squeezed her closer a bit in comfort, recalling their conversation from before.

"Okay, what about the rest of us?" Sirius asked with amusement.

"Umm…give us a bit to figure." Arabella requested as she pulled out her own book.

"Let's see, Peter's a Libra because we had his birthday party in early October and we just did James's a couple weeks before so he's a Sagittarius." Lily figured.

"I'm a Cancer and Sirius is an Aries." Remus helped.

Sirius shot Remus a warped look.

"You sound like a girl I dated 4th Year, you know that?" Sirius snorted.

"Like I said, an Aries." Remus dryly referring to the overtly masculine and abrasive nature some Aries are known to possess.

Lily and Arabella chuckled, obviously getting some unspoken joke. James and Peter shrugged, while Sirius seemed to get cross by all this.

"Keep on speaking in code then, ladies." Sirius grumbled.

The girls moved their work over to the couch while the Marauders talked Quidditch until Lily and Arabella indicated they were finished. Beckoning them back, the six reclaimed the seat they initially held and listened as Lily and Arabella traded off in explaining.

"Okay, Peter and James." Arabella started off. "James likes Peter's easy-going nature while Peter's a fan of James's adventuring lifestyle, but Peter does all the compromising in the friendship. Watch yourself James, Peter can be a crafty one when it comes to attention seeking."

"Yeah, right." Peter huffed. "What chance do I ever have of blindsiding James? He knows what I'm going to do before I'm even faced with the situation!"

"Sirius and James, being best friends and all," Lily went on. "Sociable and smart, you two are almost always on the same page of things but both possess something of a quick and fiery temper. Of course any fights are always short lived and you reconcile marvelously."

"I'll wager the make up sex is amazing." Remus quipped, causing both James and Sirius to spit out their hot chocolate. After a few minutes of riotous laughter, the group settled down so they could hear some more pairings.

"Remus and his soon-to-be former friends…" Arabella went on. "With Sirius, he is often pray to vicious jokes which deeply wound his sensitive passive nature… I might have believed this until about two minutes ago. He finds Peter somewhat shallow and attracted more to image than substance while Peter regards Remus as more than moody. And with James, Remus enjoys a bond where James trades him amusement for sensitivity. It makes them happy and close but you're running on two completely different levels most of the time. Probably why James gets along best with Sirius."

The boys nodded along with the girls' fairly convincing half-truths.

"I believe Severus Snape is a Scorpio," Lily mused as she glanced at James. "A dominating and secretive personality, he's constantly clashing with James outgoing and enthusiastic lifestyle. Snape cold and precise while James is hot running and volatile. You two are literally fire and water when mixed."

"Which one of us is fire and which of us is water?" James asked since he was completely ignorant of astrology.

"You're fire." Lily clarified.

"Good, fire always wins." James nodded.

"What about when they use that thing to extinguish fires…what's it called…of yeah, WATER?" Peter joked.

"Nah, fire always wins." James decided. "Takes water down with him." Chuckles were exchanged over James's stubborn rivalry with Snape. Keeping along with the light mood, Lily grinned at Arabella.

"I took the liberty of matching up Arabella's sign with Sirius, Peter, and Remus for a lark." Lily grinned. Arabella shot her a "you bitch" sort of glare but remained silent, evidently a little curious for how this would turn out. "With Sirius, closely matching personalities that would get along brilliantly if she'd let Sirius take the lead."

Sirius threw Arabella a flirty look to, which she rolled her eyes.

"I think I fancy being the dominant one, thank you." Arabella reported. In spite of her initial protests, Arabella seemed to be having a bit of fun with these predictions as well.

"With Peter, he would always find away to work with Arabella's stubborn streak rather than against it. They have the potential to get along splendidly since they're minds work somewhat alike." Lily continued.

Peter blushed a bit as Arabella smiled.

"At least you're brighter than Sirius is for trying to reign me in." Arabella complimented Peter.

"And as for Remus, he'd throw all his efforts into making things peaceable while she'd do everything she could to loosen him up. In the end, Arabella's such a flirt she'd only wound the dear, sensitive boy." Lily finished.

"Oh you make it sound as though I'm a tramp or something!" Arabella hissed like a wet cat.

"Now, now, you're not promiscuous, Arabella." Sirius comforted. "You're just …free."

"You wish I was that 'free' Black." Arabella snickered as she shoved Sirius, who was propped on his arm and caused him to fall to the floor before she announced with a wicked grin. "Well, let us see what the stars have to say on Mr. and Mrs. Potter!"

Lily wasn't surprised since she figured Arabella had every intention of doing this all along. She elbowed James when she caught him grinning like an idiot.

"You're encouraging her." Lily dryly informed him.

"What made you think I wouldn't!" James smirked.

"Or possibly the Snapes…" Arabella added, knocking the smile clear off James's face. Lily sank into her blanket as the other Marauders leaned closer with interest.

"For James," Arabella studied her text since, unlike Lily, she had nothing prepared before hand. "She's drawn to his optimism and charm while he's attracted by Lily's depth and temperance. They have something smoldering between them initially but once the novelty of it all wears down, James will be prone to wonder off once he gets bored with Lily's prudish nature."

Arabella looked as though she paled a bit, instantly realizing that she probably shouldn't have read that aloud. Lily and James said nothing nor did they look at one another, these ominous words seemed to weigh on their minds more than they should have. The silence was awkward in the room until Remus interjected, trying to sound flippant about it.

"Why not read about her and Snape?" Secretly, he was hoping that prediction was far worse and would lift a bit of the tension.

"Okay." Arabella agreed hesitantly as she flipped through a few pages. "Umm…Scorpio and Capricorn… They work well as a team…Prefect thing I guess, but Lily's stubbornness clashes with his temper time to time. Snape's the possessive type, but Lily's the sort who takes this as a sign of caring. He's shrewd and she's organized and both have strong values of discipline and accomplishment. Incidentally, Snape's sign possesses a powerful sensuality that draws something wild out of Lily's."

Arabella felt every eye in the room on her as she finished the prediction. James's appeared as though he were about to vomit; Arabella couldn't see what Lily looked like as she had her head completely covered with a blanket at the moment. Remus checked the book to see if Arabella had READ IT RIGHT. Peter seemed to be wrapping his mind around the idea of Snape having any sort of sensuality let alone a POWERFUL one as Sirius fought back a laugh with all his might. After the nausea seemed to subside, James finally looked to the rest of the room.

"Okay, Divination is OFFICIALLY crap!" James declared in his most indignant tone. He turned to Lily with an accusing look she could not see because she was still hiding beneath her blanket. "You're dropping this course before you're made dumb and impressionable by all it!"

"Or Severus Snape's sex kitten…" Sirius said under his breath but somehow everyone managed to hear. Once again the common room burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of this notion and Lily and Arabella shut their books in unison.

"I think we're done with Divination for today." Lily decided as she curled beside James and told herself that there was nothing, whatsoever trustworthy about astrology.

It was a lazy and casual Christmas for the remainder of the afternoon, with all six Gryffindors joking, laughing, and overall enjoying one another's company until it came time to get ready for the Yule Ball.


	14. Love Let Linger

Love Let Linger

By: Oy! Angelina

At six in the evening, the elaborately decorated courtyard of Hogwarts would open its doors and the Yule Ball would begin for the students, starting with drinks and conversations. At seven, dinner would be served with music and dancing to follow. The party was expected to come to a close around midnight, at the end of Christmas day.

Prefects were expected to be there a full hour before all the other students to make sure that the final preparations were in order. Although most of the arrangements were handled through either Filch or the House Elves of the castle, it was still important for those responsible for the event to see that everything was to their specifications. This meant Lily was the first to start grooming herself for the dance and had to reluctantly leave the company of her friends to do such.

She wasn't completely alone as the other Gryffindor girls who were attending the ball were scurrying about the girls' dormitories, trying charms and potions to do things to their hair nature had never intended. After hearing an explosion and making sure no one was either dead or bald, Lily tossed the girls a can of hair spray and insisted upon using "Muggle magic" for any hair styles here on out.

Taking out Arabella's present, Lily figured this was as good a time as any to employ the expertise of a magical vanity piece.

"Excuse me." Lily addressed her enchanted hand mirror and couldn't help but feel a little dumb for asking its opinion. "But I was wondering if you had any suggestions for how I should do my hair?"

"Of course I do!" The mirror gushed. "Anything you're trying for in particular, dearie?"

"Well, I'm going with a friend so I suppose I don't need to look stunning or anything." Lily thought aloud.

"I hate to tell you, but there's little you can help against that." The mirror complimented and Lily felt herself blush.

"I think I'd like to look sophisticated," Lily was suddenly reminded of the astrology work from earlier in the afternoon. "But not prudish. Something I won't have to fuss with all evening would be nice. Oh, and I have this lovely tiara I wish to wear as well!" Lily showed the enchanted looking glass her new head piece.

"Oh my, that IS pretty!" The mirror gasped (if mirrors COULD breath). "Well then, I have something in mind that should do right by you. Prop me up so your hands will be free and just follow along with what I say."

Following the instruction of the mirror, Lily ended up with a simple but attractive style that held the length of her hair up while allowing loose tendrils of her copper locks to seep from her hairline all around. Elegantly crowning her forehead, the emerald tiara was proudly displayed upon her head and, in spite of her usual modesty; Lily had to admit she looked very attractive that evening.

"Wonderful!" The mirror cheered. "I KNEW that would be the winning look. It has such a regal quality to it but the strands hanging about give it something of a playful look. It's such a pity you'll only be meeting with a friend this evening."

"Oh, don't worry." Lily smiled. "It's more than alright."

"Well, you have a fabulous time, sweetheart." The mirror wished. "If you feel like talking to someone about it after, I'll be more then willing to lend an ear . . .well, you know what I mean."

"Thank you." Lily placed the mirror in its mahogany and silk home, smoothed out her long, green robes, and headed out for the Gryffindor common room.

She was tempted to say good-bye to the others, but thought about how silly that would be since she'd see them in a little over an hour anyway and they were all probably in the middle of getting ready anyway. Careful to make sure she didn't tread on her robes; Lily descended the stairs and exited through the Fat Lady portrait. She had almost reached the end of the passageway before she noticed that Severus Snape was waiting there.

Like any other outfit he worse aside from their school uniforms, Snape's robes looked as though they robbed black from the very night. Lily noticed the faintest amount of navy for "color" but overall determined that Snape was merely working with his strengths since Lily couldn't really imagine him in anything other than black.

"Good evening, Lily." Snape nodded politely. "You look . . .extravagant."

"Thank you." Lily wasn't entirely sure if this was a compliment or a criticism, but played it up as the former. "I was just about to tell you that black suits you well."

Snape appeared to be entertaining the same debate Lily had a second ago and, evidently, the same conclusion as he offered his arm to Lily for the sake of being gracious and formality.

"Shall we, then?" Snape asked rhetorically. Lily accepted his arm and walked with him toward the courtyard to see the final efforts of their function out to the end.

"Prongs, be a gentleman and brush your hair for your date, will you?" Sirius teased from his dresser as he worked the clasps of his robes, which was a rich blue with a darker shade for contrast.

"You're a funny man for someone who's got enough length for one of the girls to come over and French braid with." James shrugged with a grin as he smoothed out his own outfit for the evening. Taking Arabella's advice, James went with the gold and scarlet of their house colors and thought he did look rather good in them.

On the other side of the room, Peter was parting his freshly washed hair in a set of purple robes so dark they almost appeared to be black in the proper light. Remus was clad in gray with a slight amount of silver to give it the appearance of a sky about to rain. It also helped to bring out his prematurely graying wisps of hair, which he examined with a sigh.

"Bloody hell." Remus muttered to himself. "You two are going on about your lack of styling while I'm here wondering if I'll go platinum before I can even manage a proper beard."

"Hey, I never said I wanted my hair French braided!" Sirius clarified in a disgruntled tone before sharply shifting over to a sympathetic one. "So tell me Moony, how is it you couldn't find yourself a date for tonight."

"Tell me about it!" Peter agreed. "It's a crime worthy of Azkaban when the nicest bloke to our credit can't get a date. I thought I'd be the one going it alone tonight."

"To be fair, we all did, Peter." Sirius smirked, prompting Peter to point at Sirius crossly.

"You know, Padfoot? I swear one of these days I'm going to be so fed up with your teasing, you'll provoke me to do something wicked horrible to you in retribution!" Peter warned, but this only caused Sirius to laugh a little more.

"Yes, I'm sure you're vengeance will be swift and exacting, Wormtail." Sirius sarcastically replied. James shot the both of them a disapproving look.

"Hey, knock it off the two of you." James ordered and neither Sirius nor Peter cared to challenge it. James turned his attentions on Remus. "So what's you're excuse for going it alone? I can name a dozen girls who've called me a prat to my face then asked if I could put in a good word for them with you."

"You know me, James, wolf amongst the lambs." Remus adjusted his cuffs. Remus had intended this to be a joke, but the other Marauders searched one another's faces as though to be sure it was okay for them to laugh. "Oh come on now, if I can't joke about my condition, what CAN I do with it?"

"Allow it to thrust you into a life of perpetual solitude." Peter observed, bitter at his friend's misfortune.

"Well, if any of you care to come up with a cure for my curse at any point, feel free." Remus shrugged. "Until them, I'm at something of a loss. Most people don't want to get close to someone who's a monster and anyone who did I'd probably care about too much to let them."

"You're not a monster!" James said almost angrily. "You're Remus 'Moony' Lupin and there's no reason you should be going stag."

"Stag." Sirius repeated thoughtfully as a smile crossed his face. "Remember in Muggle Studies when we learned about that crimson dressed fellow who went about delivering trinkets for children around the world during Christmas? He had those dees fly him about. You know, Satan Claws."

"SANTA CLAUSE." James corrected, wishing his friend wouldn't zone out so often during classroom lectures.

"Sirius, stop confusing Muggle holiday icons with demonic entities." Remus requested in a tired voice.

"And quit distracting me with comments that leave me as dazed as a rogue bludger!" James added before pointing at Remus. "You! No date. Why?"

"Well, I figure I won't be the only one going alone and since I had no one in mind to ask, I just reckon I'll dance with all the other girls whom are without a date." Remus shrugged.

"Damn decent of you, Remus." Peter said approvingly.

"Oh the hell you're going to praise him for this!" Sirius laughed. "If waltzing about with a new girl on your arm every five minutes is suddenly a form of altruism, I should have acquired sainthood somewhere around 2nd Year!"

"You're just jealous he thought of it first." James observed.

"Absolutely." Sirius didn't deny as he checked his pocket watch. "We should probably be off. They open the doors to the courtyard in half and hour and we still need to coax Arabella out of the bathroom before swinging by the Hufflepuffs for my and Peter's dates."

"Yeah, you're right." James checked himself over one last time before splashing on some cologne, reminded Peter to do so as well with the action.

Leaving their bedrooms in the dormitory, the Marauders heard the voices of other Gryffindors chatting and laughing in the common room below as they waited for their dates or friends to make their ways down. James leaned over the balcony to see if he could spy Arabella amongst them, but discovered she was probably still in her room. James told his friends he'd meet up with them in a minute as he stopped off by the girls' dormitory and knocked on the door. A 4th Year answered and went to find Arabella.

James waited several minutes after that until Arabella emerged onto the stairs with him. She was wearing the same sky blue robes she had showed him at the Three Broomsticks but it was more off the shoulder than he had thought it would be. Arabella's make up was a more dramatic than she traditionally dawned but it suited her for the occasion. James decided that she looked like a beautifully wrapped present with her hair; tightly pulled all around save for a knot on top her head that cascaded free with golden coils.

"Glad to see you know when to take some good advice." Arabella smiled approvingly over his choice in dress robes. She gripped her handbag to her side, which James was willing to bet had a camera somewhere in it.

"And your beauty is completely wasted on me this evening, 'Bella." James meant that. He felt horrible that he was taking Arabella out looking this wonderful and he could feel nothing for it aside from an aesthetic appreciation. Arabella offered her arm to James and he had to laugh.

"Damn straight!" Arabella agreed with a chuckle as James took her arm shaking his head. "Getting mixed up with you will probably leave me poor in love but rich is cats."

"Nah, I think you'll make a fine oppressive spouse someday." James disagreed.

"Kind of you to say." Arabella smiled. "Onward and forward, eh?"

Rejoining their friends, James left Gryffindor tower with one of the most attractive women he'd ever have on his arm and the only one who managed to capture a fondness both platonic and unwavering.

Lily was completely relieved to see that everything was set up as the Prefects had intended. Following the instructions to this Years Headboy and Headgirl, Lily, Snape, Randall O'Neil (the Hufflepuff Prefect), and Charissa Bradley (the Ravenclaw Prefect) did a quick count of tables and chairs, made certain the refreshments were fresh and accessible, and that the enchanted instruments that would serve as the band were all tuned and willing to do encores. At the front of the party, was the Head table where Lily and the other members of her committee would be seated with the faculty attending the event (which was pretty much all of them).

Five minutes before the doors were expected to admit the other students (who could be faintly heard on the other side), the Prefects, HeadBoy and Headgirl readied themselves to greet their peers as they entered. Every one of the student body heads were excited and eager to start things off, well with the exception of Snape but that was to be expected.

Lily stood at Snape's and waited slightly nervous. She was completely apprehensive over the possibility of something going wrong or people not liking the ball they had all invested so much thought and energy into organizing. To her surprise, Snape managed to make her forget these emotions.

"I've been meaning to say something about your tiara." Snape stated out of nowhere. "It's a compliment to you."

Lily smiled.

"Thank you, Severus." Lily replied appreciatively.

The lurching sound of the broad double door hinges forced Lily and Snape to turn their heads expectantly. Several couples and groups started to stream in, gazing around and chattering excitedly about the illusionary falling snow that was neither cold nor wet, the sparkling lights that accented to the rolling red and green mist low to the dance floor, or even the large Christmas tree propped in the center of the courtyard serving as the heart for the holiday sentiment.

Lily quickly became accustom to chanting hellos and thanking her peers for attending while Snape mostly nodded his head while extending shorter greetings and accepting the occasional handshake when offered to him. When Lily caught sight of her friends who were trailing just behind the bulk of their House, she waved merrily to them since she was not permitted to abandon her post until they greeted all their guests. James allowed Arabella to pull him to the side while someone took a picture of them with Sir Nicolas, the Gryffindor House ghost by a lovely decorated wreath. The remaining Marauders and their dates went ahead to say hi to their Prefect.

"Looks smashing, Lily!" Sirius beamed as he glanced about the courtyard approvingly before noticing Lily herself. "But who would bloody well notice with you looking so ravishing!"

Debra, Sirius's date for the evening, and Snape both shared the same disapproving expression as they glared at Sirius.

"Would it be too much to ask you to not leer at my date, Black?" Snape demanded coolly. Debra nodded in a curt agreement and Sirius could only smile in apology.

"Why don't the both of you sit with us tonight?" Remus offered with a hesitant look at Snape. Although he'd rather hang himself with a length of garland than spend an evening with Snape, Remus figured it was the only civil thing to do nonetheless.

"We're expected to sit at the Head table." Lily quickly informed before Snape had the opportunity to say something nasty in reply.

Lily could hear James and Arabella laughing about something as they rejoined their friends. Turning away from Arabella, James got his first good look at Lily and felt completely bewitched.

How did she make perfection look so effortless? Her green, form flattering dress with her beautifully styled red hair against her snowy complexion made her seem even more festive for the season. Lily smiled in a shy sort of way at James and he felt himself do the same.

Daring another look at her, James decided if he wasn't completely enamored with Lily Evans already he probably would have become so at the sight of her just then.

"Lily, you look utterly fabulous!" Arabella chirped the words James had been searching for.

"Only thanks to your present." Lily blushed, suddenly modest under all the attentions.

"Umm . . .maybe we should go and claim a table before we're stuck in the back." Peter suggested with Mandy on his arm. Everyone in the party nodded their heads and followed Peter off. James lingered for a minute, getting one last good look at Lily.

"Have a good evening, Lily." James wished quietly, before turning to Snape who appeared to be more than amused at James's longing. Still, James mustered every last bit of his civility to say. "You as well, Snape." Snape offered a single nod to this as James went off with Arabella.

Lily and Snape remained with the other Prefect for another five minutes until everyone who had arrived on time had entered the courtyard. Afterwards, the Prefect couple floated around the party, making conversation with their peers and faculty. To be proper, Lily kept her arm locked with Snape's while they (mostly her) commiserated graciously. She ignored the queer looks from most of the other students (and even some professors) whom were silently questioning the pairing but were too polite to comment upon it. Lily doubted someone as perceptive as Snape was oblivious of this tension, although he neither remarked nor reacted to it.

In making their rounds, Lily and Snape encountered Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts who smiled with a kindly affection he often extended to all his students. There was a look in his eyes that hinted at an ability to see the innate potential and good in all his students and the optimism that whatever he saw at would someday be realized by the person who possessed it.

"Professor Dumbledore." Lily greeted with both a fondness and respect for the elderly wizard. Snape offered a deeper bow than he had extended to anyone else that evening, along with a deeper sincerity.

"How are you this evening?" Snape inquired as he straightened himself before the dignified mage.

"Thoroughly enjoying myself, thank you, Severus." Dumbledore smiled warmly. "You and the other Prefects, along with our Head students of the year, should all be most proud of what you have accomplished."

"We are, Professor." Lily assured, returning her Headmaster's warmth.

"If I may say so, it's refreshing to see our young master Snape in such lovely company this evening. It's a compliment to both your characters." Professor Dumbledore stated approvingly. If either Lily or Snape had blinked they would have missed him quickly shift his eyes over to the notoriously trouble-making Slytherins of Snape's Year who were not limited to Nott, Lestrange, his girlfriend, and Avery. Snape seemed uncharacteristically awkward by this observation, which Lily assumed was simply Snape's reaction to the compliment.

"Thank you for taking notice, Professor." Snape replied stiffly.

"Not at all, Severus." Dumbledore smiled as the turned to specifically to Lily. "Another thing I couldn't help but notice was how wonderful Miss Evans looks in honor of the ball. Truly, there are few Charms I know that are as enchanting as you presently are, Lily."

Lily went bright red at this compliment since that was saying a lot coming from a great man like Dumbledore. Lily thought that she squeaked out a "thank you" but couldn't be sure. Dumbledore smiled some more at this.

"I would accredit the tiara for bringing such an affect to the surface. The extraordinary affections of whomever delivered it into your possession was certain to ensure that everyone saw you as they did. And I'd be rather flattered if someone thought so fondly of me." Dumbledore continued.

"Are you suggesting it's an enchanted item?" Snape inquired with a raised eyebrow, as though he had expected to be aware if it was. Lily couldn't be certain if it was either, since it had been a gift and she only suspected that it was from James.

"Not in any sense you shall learn within these school walls or tome of spells, Severus, but it is a powerful magic all its own. Of course, that is merely an old man's opinion." Professor Dumbledore finished with a slight twinkle in his eye as he glanced over Lily and Snape's shoulders. "If you'll excuse me, I think I shall investigate as to what provoked the brawl between Mr. Black and the animated snowmen near the refreshment table."

"Of course." Snape replied. Lily and Snape both bowed again as the Hogwarts Headmaster strolled off before returning to socializing with there peers.

"We officially can't take you anywhere." Remus decided as Sirius sauntered up to the table, looking a little too proud of himself as he brushed snow off the sleeves of his robes.

"We send you for drinks and you get into a fight with a snowman." Arabella smirked most amused. "Please enlighten us as to how this came about."

"I asked him if he had any ice and that led into a whole other thing." Sirius reported with a snort. "He certainly didn't need to bring my mother into it. It's alright, I got one of the frosty bastard's eyes."

Sirius tossed a hunk of coal into the center of the table with prompted the whole table to erupt into laughter. Calming down after Sirius's antics, Arabella wiped a tear from her eye carefully to not disturb her make up before addressing the rest of her friends.

"You know, this would be a lot more fun with, Lily." Arabella sighed.

"Yeah, not much of a point in acting up if no one's going to yell at you." Sirius nodded. James had a solemn expression of agreement as he spotted Lily over at the Head table between Snape and the Headgirl. Professor McGonagall began to tap her glass to draw everyone's attention. After Professor Dumbledore thanked everyone for attending and praised the efforts of the student representatives for organizing the event, dinner began and dancing followed.

At a quarter to nine the party was well under way and most of the couples (and a few make shift ones) were on the misty dance floor as the enchanted instruments serenade them. Peter and Sirius developed an effective system of dancing with their dates through a couple of songs then breaking away for a couple to talk with their friends or anyone else who had caught their attentions. True to his word, Remus was dancing with a new girl who had arrived without a date practically every ten minutes, all of whom were fairly appreciative since they could say they actually got a dance in let alone with one of the more popular faces at school. Arabella was somewhat irritated by this as she danced with James.

"Hey! At the Quidditch party I tried to get him to dance with me and he wouldn't stop going on about how horrible he was!" Arabella pouted to James in the midst of their own waltz.

"You were terribly drunk that night from what I hear." James observed. "Maybe he was trying to calm you down."

"I reckon he just didn't want to dance with me." Arabella teased.

"Yeah I'm sure that's it." James sarcastically agreed. "In case you haven't noticed, most of the boys about here are working up a means to bash my head in and claim you for their own."

"Well too bad!" Arabella huffed. "They only want one thing from me anyway!"

"Inane trivia about cats?" James was rewarded for this guess by a well-placed stomp of Arabella's heel into his foot. He laughed it off since he had asked for it. "Well what makes you assume I'm so different?"

"Well you're too proper for it, which is good because you're pretty pathetic whenever I catch you in flirty action. Thank your lucky stars you have boyish charm on your side, James." Arabella teased a little more. James enjoyed the banter until Arabella looked at him a little more sympathetically. "That and the fact I keep catching you staring at Lily as I was staring at you two months ago."

James blushed and dawned a rather guilty look.

"I'm sorry about that, Arabella." James said sincerely. "I'm not being a very good date, am I?"

"I'm having fun." Arabella assured. "I'm just sorry you're not having the night you wanted."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to come with Lily." James admitted. "But, I think I'd be a lot worse off if I didn't have you here with me. I don't know if it's worth all that much, but you're doing a really smashing job of keeping my mind off mopping." Arabella smiled at this.

"Glad to be of some use around her." Arabella beamed as she noticed that most of their friends were back at their table. "Want to take a break and chat it up a bit."

"Fine by me." James shrugged. "I was getting tired of stepping all over your feet anyway." Arabella laughed as they headed back to where Sirius, Remus, and Peter were congregating. Their Hufflepuff dates were off talking with some of their friends and had abandoned the boys for the moment. James offered to grab some drinks for everyone, leaving Arabella to the company of his friends.

"James is just so disheartened." Arabella reported once he was out of earshot. "I don't take it personally, mind you, but he's completely transfixed on Lily."

All the heads at the table turned toward Lily and Snape, who were presently dancing amongst the other couples on the floor. The four Gryffindors cringed at the sheer unnaturalness of the situation before turning to one another.

"Still, at least Snape's trying to be a proper date." Arabella was reluctant to admit. "The only reason he's trotting out there must be for Lily's benefit."

"You poor, naïve girl." Sirius groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"Pardon?" Arabella raised an eyebrow.

"Snape's not being decent; he's being the same wicked prat he's always passing himself off as." Sirius informed pointedly as he glared toward the very topic of his conversation. "He's playing a nice round of keep away with James and he's winning."

"Don't you think you're reading in a – " Arabella started, before Remus jumped in.

"No." Remus agreed with Sirius. "Maybe it's partially on Lily behalf, but he's mostly doing it to taunt James. If Snape keeps her occupied and always in arm's reach, he's not giving James any opening to cut in by any means and James isn't about to tempt Lily's wrath by coming off as some jealous wanker."

"Oh that's horrible!" Arabella hissed, completely seeing what the two boys were talking about now.

"Yeah, poor Prongs." Peter sighed. "Looks like he won't even get a chance to talk with Lily, let alone a dance."

This visibly didn't sit well with Arabella as she glared out on the dance floor, deeply pondering something. With a sharp snap of her long fingers, Arabella turned to the group with a quirky grin.

"I bet I can get James a dance." Arabella crowed. The three Marauders exchanged skeptical glances.

"Unlikely." Was Peter's nay saying. "I'll throw a galleon down to prove."

"As much as I'm personally rooting for true love overcoming all obstacles, I'm going to have to side with Peter." Sirius confessed. "I'll back it up with a galleon as well."

Remus seemed to weight the odds for a moment before committing: "I've got a galleon giving Arabella the benefit of the doubt."

"And I'll wager on myself thank you." Arabella declared as she got up and made her way on the dance floor just as James found his way back to the table.

"Where's she off to?" James inquired.

"Supposedly to get you a dance with Lily." Peter pulled his butterbeer near him. "Think she'll try to seduce him?"

"Bah, I don't believe she'd think that would work." Remus disagreed. "She'll probably try to go through Lily and avoid Snape altogether."

"That's a bad road too, mate." Sirius observed. "Lily's not going to undermine Snape since she's supposed to be his date for the evening and all."

"Oh damn!" James moaned. "If she doesn't get me in trouble with Lily she'll make me out to be some pathetic git in front of Snape!"

The Marauders watched as though they expected some grotesque scene to unfold right before them.

"Hello, Arabella." Lily greeted as her housemate strolled up to her and Snape on the dance floor. She couldn't suppress the quizzical expression on her face. "Enjoying yourself."

"Marvelous time!" Arabella confirmed. "You?"

"Grand." Lily replied, hoping her friend would hint at something. Snape eyed Arabella suspiciously, also expecting something from her. He appeared to be holding his tongue so as not to insult one of Lily's close friends right in front of her.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could cut in for a bit?" Arabella flashed a sweet smile at both the Prefects. In turn, they both gave her looks as though they hadn't heard her correctly. Lifting the trim of her robes a bit, Arabella displayed her scuffed shoes. "Look here! James keep trotting all about my shoes and I'm sick of not being able to feel my toes just so I can get a dance in."

Arabella threw out a pout for emphasis. Lily shrugged a bit since this sounded more than reasonable but still suspected Arabella was up to more than she was letting on.

"Why not ask one of Potter's friends?" Snape suggested, obviously not comfortable with the idea of dancing with Arabella.

"Oh I tried! Pleaded with them at the table for minutes on but they're all prattling about being tired and wanting to sit a couple out." Arabella moaned. Anticipating what argument Snape would throw out next, Arabella quickly added. "And I don't want to go up to some strange guy and ask him for a-go. The last thing I need is to have some girl thinking I'm a home wrecker or giving some randy prat an open invitation to treat me like a petting zoo! Snape's not that sort and Lily knows I'm not up to anything devious, so what do you say?"

"Well, I'm fine with it." Lily looked to Snape as she spoke. "But, if you don't feel up to it . . ."

"Why wouldn't he feel up to it?" Arabella beamed. "He's been waltzing with you since dinner finished up. Why would he suddenly wear out?" Lily didn't know what to say since she didn't want to commit Snape to anything.

"No, it's fine." Snape agreed in a voice that suggested it was anything but fine; however, he didn't want to behave in an exceptionally rude manner to such a simple request in Lily's presence. Still, he extended a hand to Arabella, which she accepted graciously and the two started to dance. Lily edged away to give them some room.

"I'll see about getting some drinks then." Lily announced as she headed off the floor.

The Marauders stared slack jawed as Arabella started dancing with Snape and left Lily completely unattended at the moment. Sirius roughly shoved James in the shoulder.

"Get your ass out there and ask her to dance before some bloke that's either smarter or quicker beats you to it!" Sirius demanded, not caring that he just lost the bet.

James didn't need to be told twice and made a beeline straight for Lily. He caught her just short of the refreshment table.

"Hey, how's it going?" James attempted to be casual.

"Fine." Lily's green eyes searched James's face. "Did you put Arabella up to something?"

"No, I didn't." James could honestly say. "Would you care for a dance?"

"I'm not sure." Lily smirked. "Arabella was just telling Severus and I how you kept trampling her feet."

"All part of The Potter Experience." James reported with a grin causing Lily to laugh. Deciding that she couldn't really protest if she was so amused, James didn't waste anytime as he took one of Lily's hands with his own and place the other on her waist.

After about a minute of dancing, Lily smiled at James as she looked him up and down.

"I think Arabella misled me, you're a more than decent dancer." Lily stated. "You look very handsome by the way."

"Well, I'd start complimenting you but I imagine Snape will be expecting you back sometime tonight." James gazed upon the gorgeous young woman in his arms. Lily blushed a bit and chuckled.

From across the floor, Snape kept Arabella practically at arms length and was evidently loathing every moment of it. Arabelle rolled her eyes and threw him a cross look.

"Is it really THAT excruciating?" Arabella demanded.

"Mostly on account of your perfume." Snape muttered, trying not to make eye contact with the smaller blond.

"Oh it can't possibly be all that bad!" Arabella replied indignantly.

"Considering I devote most of my time to brewing potions in areas with poor air circulation, what indication does that provide?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

Arabella's jaw fell slack; she was so offended by this she was tempted to storm off, but caught herself. Showing a toothy and evil grin to Snape, Arabella dug her nails a little into his for arm, causing him to wince.

"Trying to drive me off, eh?" Arabella hissed, Snape made an agitated noise. "I think we'll stay like this just a bit longer."

In frustration, Snape scanned around hoping Lily would come back soon but spied her dancing with Potter near the refreshments. She was laughing and smiling at something Potter had just said but Snape had trouble believing this since it would require Potter to say something actually interesting. Glaring at Arabella, he studied the girl who was presently sneering at him.

"So THAT is what you were up to." Snape determined in a voice that harbored a hint of admiration amidst a sea of thorough resentment. "And here I figured the most you were hoping to accomplish was to be a bother to me."

"Don't flatter yourself." Arabella advised. "Now just be a nice, nasty person and finish up the dance then we can go back to our respective corners."

"I think not." Snape made his move to leave, but Arabella griped onto his robes in her clenched fist.

"Oh I think so." Arabeall contradicted. "Because if you don't, I will introduce you to a display of public humiliation that will make it into "Howarts; A History" once they get around to doing revision." Snape glared at her in a defiant sort of way.

"And how do you hope to accomplish that?" Snape challenged, seeing if he was calling a bluff.

"You'd be amazed at what a sudden shriek, followed by an offended slap across the face, and a well-placed 'how dare you' can do to someone without much of a good name to sully." Arabella replied. "So unless you want to be known as the "Pervey Prefect" for the rest of our time at Hogwarts, FINISH THE DANCE!"

"Damn. You. Woman." Snape growled but didn't make any further efforts to leave.

Once the song had concluded, Snape and Arabella abruptly broke apart so he could retrieve Lily and she could run her hand under scalding water in the girls' bathroom. Lily politely thanked James for the dance and retuned with Snape to their table as he was, most assuredly engaging in a glare war with James. James sighed and retuned to the table were his friends were. They offered their most heartfelt congratulation and Peter and Sirius both didn't mind they were out a galleon in this case.

James managed a few weak smiles but couldn't fight off the depression embedding itself deeply within him. He was never truly fine with the idea of Lily acting as Snape's date to the ball, but it hadn't really sunk in until now. After spending a Christmas day (which happened to be one of the most perfect days of his life) with Lily as his company all throughout the weight of situation finally crashed into James. He waved for Sirius and Peter to go off and be proper dates but Remus remained with the sullen James at the table since he was unattached. Even though they were both silent, James found this gesture comforting.

He wasn't jealous since he knew Lily cared for him in a way Snape could never achieve and James wasn't mad at her for not being with him. In the end, it that James was miserable because the one person in the world he always wanted to be around was cut off from him entirely for the next few hours. He had hoped a dance with Lily would have been cathartic somehow, but it just reminded James of what he was truly missing.

His better half.

"Remus?" James mumbled as he watched Lily from afar. Remus leaned across the table with a concerned look for his friend.

"What can I do for you, Prong?" Remus asked with earnest.

"Make sure Arabella has a good time, gets back all right." James requested. Remus put a hand on James's shoulder and look as though he were about to argue with James, but was cut off. "I'll only hurt Arabella if she has to be with me like this and I can't pull myself back from it. She's been outstanding to me this night and it's an atrocity to force her to grin and bear for me when she should be off finding some nice guy who isn't obsessing over another girl."

"Okay, James." Remus relented. "But say goodbye first, alright? You don't want her fretting because you just up and disappeared."

"Yeah, thanks again, Remus." James forced out a smile before heading off to intercept Arabella who was making her way back to the table. She was still grinning about her little triumph over Snape was about to give James the full account when she saw the look on his face.

"James . . ." Arabella looked suddenly distraught. "What – "

"I'm going back to the dorms." James explained warily. "I appreciate everything you've done for me Arabella, for tonight and everything leading up to it. You have been positively extraordinary and charming at every turn, but you should be worrying about your own happiness rather than mine."

"James, I'm having a great time!" Arabella insisted. "You shouldn't feel bad! Come on, don't head off, we'll just keep having fun like we've been doing."

James genuinely smiled at Arabella's concern and placed a hand to her cheek while looking kindly at her.

"I would if I didn't know I would be spending the entire night looking at Lily." James spoke gently. "And Arabella, you deserve to be with someone who wouldn't take their eyes off you to blink. I'll see you later and have enough fun for both of us, hm?"

With that, James headed off and away from the party. Arabella lingered until she couldn't see James anymore and headed back to the table, she didn't even get a chance to sit down before Remus had swept her back on the floor.

"Marvelous play with Snape." Remus congratulated. "I knew I was making a wise investment when betting on you. I'll give you your share of the winnings later."

Arabella smiled knowingly at Remus.

"Let me guess, James asked you to take care of me." Arabella pressed.

"Yes." Remus admitted. "However, I would have done so even if he had not."

"Obligation and honor amongst friends is noble but so transparent." Arabella rolled her eyes. "Probably told you to parrot that part too."

"Absolutely not." Remus shook his head firmly. "Miss Figg, you are a breathe of fresh air in an otherwise stale life."

"Now you're just making fun!" Arabella protested.

"Arabella, let me ask you something?" Remus requested. "How many guys do you know would spend an entire evening trying to keep up a conversation and mane of gold hair for a girl who keeps interrupting him to vomit? After that, figure in how many would seek out your company later on, particularly at the party of the year?"

Arabella blushed slightly as she relived Remus being privy to her finest hour at Hogwarts.

"I just assumed you were a very nice man who hated fun." Arabella answered.

"Be that as it may, it's a completely separate issue as to why I want to dance with you." The smile Remus directed at Arabella caused her to shift her eyes away.

During her conversation with Snape at the Head table, Lily lost track of James in the thicket of Hogwarts students who were dancing and congregating. It was probably another half an hour before she realized she had yet to see James resurface. As tempted as she was to personally go out and look for him, Lily reminded herself that she was here on Snape's behalf but was finding this to be more and more distracting as her words droned along with Snape's.

Almost a full hour after they had last seen her, Arabella approached the two of them again with her usual mischievous grin.

"Lily, could I borrow you for a moment?" Arabella inquired as she glared over to Snape, waiting for him to try and parry her.

"By all means." Snape replied, eyes fixed on Arabella. "After all, it's not as though you are members of the same House whom socialize with one another day in and day out."

Catching Snape's sarcastic tone, Arabella immediately abandoned every effort to play nice with the vile Slytherin and glared.

"Look, why don't you just find a nice, warm rock to perch on and flick your tongue at me from there?" Arabella suggested. Lily seemed as though she were appalled by both of their behavior so Snape decided to not pursue bantering.

"Retract your claws, Figg." Snape instructed. "I trust I'll be able to manage without Lily for the next few minutes." Lily abandoned her seat and allowed Arabella to lead her a bit away. Shooting one last nasty look Snape's way, Arabella turned to Lily.

"Okay, I'm not even going to start in on why you would EVER want to go to a ball with someone like Snape." Arabella groaned before her expression became a serious one. "James left back for Gryffindor tower Lily about an hour ago."

Lily sighed at this news.

"Let me guess, he's off throwing a fit over me and Severus?" Lily's tone was a medley of concern and curt.

"No." Arabella shook her head. "Because he couldn't keep tormenting himself. He didn't strike me as cross or jealous, just sad. I mean, how do you expect him to behave?"

"He and I talked about this." Lily reminded both herself and Arabella.

"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact he worships you and you came to the social event of the season with the person James most loathes and is mutually loathed by." Arabella observed. The corner of Lily's mouth twitched as she dwelled on this. Arabella put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. In fact, I know you probably figured you were just trying to do right by both James and Snape. After all, what does a ball with Snape mean if you're probably ending up with James anyway?"

"Apparently, something based on James's reaction." Lily replied.

"Yeah, well, being in love will make you a bit sensitive to that sort of thing." Arabella noted. "And I do think he loves you, even if he's not really all that aware of it himself. James is cute, but a tad thick."

"I didn't mean to hurt him." Lily spoke in a small voice. Arabella smiled at her.

"Of course not." Arabella agreed. "However, I think Snape did."

"Arabella . . ." Lily sounded tired but her friend cut her off.

"Oh, I very much doubt that was Snape's only motivation for taking you, but tell me the look on James's face wasn't one of the fringe benefits?" Arabella pointed out. Lily felt ill over her treatment of James and how ignorant she had made herself in how her date with Snape would have affected him. Overwhelmed with the desire to start setting things right, Lily thanked Arabella and retuned to where she had left Snape.

"I'm sorry, Severus, but I'm afraid I'll have to end our evening here." Lily sincerely apologized as she collected her purse.

"Is everything all right?" Snape asked curiously.

"Yes. Someone in my House is very upset at the moment and I must attend to that." Lily didn't lie, but divulged nothing.

"Let me take a wild stab, Potter?" Snape raised an eyebrow, waiting for her reaction.

"Yes, James." Lily confirmed.

"Can't you see this is his ploy?" Snape pressed. "He's playing off your sympathies while you play right into his hands."

"Thank you for your concern, I'll keep that in mind." Lily offered as a hurried reply. Snape's eyes narrowed as he grew unsatisfied with her reactions to his words.

"I'm not oblivious, Lily." Snape announced quietly. Lily turned to him and waited for him to continue along with this however he had intended. "I'm well aware of your . . .attraction to Potter, but I think you've lost sight of the person he is at heart: Juvenal, manipulative, and quick to betray your confidence and undermine your authority. Once Potter shows his true colors, I most assure you they won't be the same ones he dawns when he's showing off at Quidditch."

"It suddenly occurred to me why you and James resent one another so much." Lily spoke evenly. "You both so polar you're almost parallel. I think you see one another as the personification of all the choices you've neglected and opportunities you've missed. Neither of you are better for it all than the other, just similarly different."

Snape had heard what Lily said and held an expression that suggested he was chewing on these words. After processing this information, his black eyes fixed on Lily with a harsh glare he typically spared her.

"Is that why you came here with me tonight?" Snape's tone was an accusing one. "To see which side of the coin suited you better? Are you so irredeemably indecisive that you can only manage your decisions through trial and error? If you had simply asked Lily, I think I could have spared you a lot of unnecessary concern."

Once she was sure Snape had finished, Lily put her purse down for a moment so she could stand tall in front of Severus Snape and deny him even the subtlest of impressions that she was hiding behind anything.

"I came with you tonight for many reasons and none of which, in spite for your astute perception, you've even managed to grasp." Lily informed firmly but not angry. Snape found little satisfaction in provoking this emotion and he believed Lily was, on some level, aware of this. "I thought of you as a kindred spirit, a confidant, an equal and, at times, a rival, but mostly as a friend. I DID NOT think of you as means to get James's attention, a tool to elevate my self-esteem, or a collection of emotions to torture. In truth: a need nothing and no one to be assured I have James's affections. Only I have the power to dictate my self-worth and precious little outside of that should EVER have the remotest of barring. And how could I torment you anymore than you do so yourself, Severus? Especially when I'm afflicted by the same string of complexes as you do?"

"I'm sure Potter is waiting for you." Was all Snape would and could say to Lily. With a stiff lip, she nodded as she reclaimed her purse. Snape knew if she had any intention of crying, she would never let him see or know.

"There is nothing I can say to bring you out of the mood you're in now Severus, I know you well enough for that. But I want to give you a perspective to consider once you feel you've accomplished all you can by hating me." Lily announced and Snape waited. "Even if I'm with James, I'm still who I've always been with you. And as I recall, you seemed occasionally fond of that person. I'll always be Lily Evans."

Snape paused, showing that he heard her before he coldly replied.

"That is until you're Lily Potter."

Lily almost shuddered at the way he had said those words as Snape had managed to make it sound like she was now a possession of James to be dominated and stripped of its initial character. Unable to pursue the conversation on her end and incapable of taking anything more from Snape's, Lily left the party and headed back toward the Gryffindors dormitories.

Snape watched Lily walk off into the castle and loathed her incredibly at the moment. Not for anything she had really done but for everything she happened to be. Lily was innocently cruel, devastating without the slightest inkling she was such. Snape had and would always resent her for this side effect of her presence. It was then Snape recognized that the forgiveness, temperance, and compassion he despised most in her at the moment were all the same qualities that Lily had never deprived of him, even in his recent, malicious exchange with her. In the end, it was hard not to be in awe of Lily Evans.

After all, so few like her still walked the Earth and they were always meant to be unattainable in some innocently cruel fashion.

It was dark in the Gryffindor commons. James could have summoned more light aside from the glow of the fireplace and the few illuminated lanterns along the stairs but he found things as they were a better reflection his present mood. Lying on the couch, still in his dress robes, James watched the fire as though it were a point of interest. He recognized he wasn't doing or thinking anything particularly important, but it really wouldn't be sulking if he had been.

It was so quiet in the common room that James heard the portrait entranceway slide open to let a Gryffindor in. The grandfather clock had chimed the hour of ten only a few minutes before which meant whomever had just arrived was giving up a couple more hours of the ball. Unable to resist his curiosity, James craned his neck slightly peer over the backing of the couch he was on. He watched Lily stride in before she met his stare.

"Lily." James pulled himself into a partially seated position on the couch so he could look at her better. "What are you doing back?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something." Lily replied as she pulled the tiara off her head and held it out. "Did you send me this?"

James appeared to be deciding what the right answer was before he reluctantly nodded.

"Yeah. I thought it deserved you." James admitted, while adverting his eyes. "I just didn't want to make a show of it in front everyone and since we're going along as friends, I didn't want to be overstepping any lines. Still, I wanted you to have it."

"Well, thank you for it." Lily smiled weakly. "Professor Dumbledore paid a most gracious compliment upon it earlier this evening. It's giving me a lot to think about since then." James frowned at Lily's tragic demeanor as she walked over toward the couch he was upon but made no motion to join him.

"Lily, is something wrong?" James's head followed her as she moved.

"Yes, something is wrong." Lily nodded, voice quivering a bit, as she stopped in front of the fireplace and watched the movement of its flames. "It's recently come to my attention that I owe an apology to a lot of people."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" James's brow furrowed as he watched Lily with concern.

"Well, there's Arabella. If I had just admitted how I suspected I felt about you from the beginning, the girl wouldn't have been caught under false hope and might have found someone by now to fancier her as much as she would them." Lily listed. "Let's not forget Sirius and how I could have bloody well torn your very friendship apart because I had to be stubborn or coy or whatever the hell I was working to achieve when it came to you."

James wanted to interrupt and start contradicting Lily but he decided it would be better to let her unburden herself now and reassure her later.

"I also managed a brilliant job of getting Severus Snape to hate me because he, in no way, approves of how I drawn I am to being with you, which I probably should have just cleared the air about long before we ended up at the ball together. Couple that with how demanding and guarded I've allowed myself to be, it's hard to not have something seem wrong." Lily ranted on with a sigh, before she looked to James with a distraught expression that in no way detracted from how beautiful she was just then.

"It comes down to a lot of people are rightfully upset because I couldn't be honest with them or myself about how much I care for you, James." Lily confessed flat out. "And of all the people I owe an apology, you're the one I was desperate to offer one to. I am sorry that I made things a lot more complicated than they needed to be between us for such a long time. I'm sorry I couldn't take more on faith with you when you extended so much of it to me. And I'm sorry it took me four months to get around to realizing and owning up to all of it."

Lily could keep back her tears any longer than James could listen to Lily continue to crucify herself. Abandoning the couch, James came up to Lily and pulled her into him. He rested his cheek against the side of Lily's head and couldn't think of a single thing to say that would reassure her. All James could hope was that just being there would be enough for Lily. They spent a few minutes like that. Lily wasn't sobbing, but James was fairly sure she was still crying a bit. It had taken him a while, but James believed he had figured out something to say to the woman in his arms.

"You don't need any of this." James drew her in close enough to feel her heart beating like a startled bird in a cage. "You have enough worries and burdens without you thinking you owe anything to anyone. Yeah, we all could have been making different choices in our lives somewhere down the line, but we wouldn't be who we are without the ones we already made. I know you're upset by the way things are now but I think they'll all end up for the better. Arabella and Sirius seem no worse for wear, Snape won't hold a grudge because even he's not a big enough prat to think cutting you from his life would somehow make it better, and all those things you described yourself as being are some of the qualities I prize most in you, Lily."

Lily pulled away from James's chest to gaze at him. Maybe it wasn't so much what he had said, rather how he had said it, but Lily felt better about her sudden lot in life and believed she owed a large part of that to the person who was currently holding her so dear. James smiled at her before pushing a few strands of hair off her face. Lily felt her eyes briefly close in response to the gesture.

"Is there anything I can do to make this in anyway better?" James pleaded with complete sincerity.

"You could kiss me." Lily breathed in reply.

James wasn't sure if he had started to hold her tighter or more gently, but he felt himself lean in, eyes half opened as he brought his lips to Lily. Their eyes met one last time before both sets closed. It started with just the simplest of gestures and slowly both felt the kiss transform into something deeper that neither had anticipated nor seemed to mind. In a way, this kiss was a testament to their entire relationship up to the moment.

If James Potter hesitated for even a second, it was only to recognize he was bidding farewell to his close friendship with Lily Evans for something deeper.

After spending fifteen minutes or so brooding over his present situation, Snape saw little point in remaining at the ball since everything seemed to be more than under control and he no longer had a date he was expected to entertain. He was on his way out when he encountered Lestrange and some of the other members of their House.

"Where's you're date gone off to, Severus?" Lestrange asked in a tone that suggested he had a pretty good idea.

"I'd strongly recommend against antagonizing me at the moment, Lestrange." Snape replied through his teeth. Lestrange's twisted girlfriend smiled at him with feigned sympathy.

"If it makes you feel better, we were all kind of hoping you'd hit it off with that little trophy you've been totting all night." She cooed in an obnoxious voice.

"I know I was kind of hoping a good shag might have loosened you up a bit." Avery snickered but stopped abruptly when it looked as though Snape might hex him on the spot for the comment. Getting more than defensive, Avery pointed a finger at Snape. "Look, it's for the best even if you're not willing to see it. Evans gets close to you, she gets close to us."

"It might be different if she was just a pretty skirt to chase about, but she's a smart enough one to figure out what were up to and I don't feel like spending a holiday in Azkaban even if you do." Nott agreed gruffly as he glared at Snape.

"Don't put words in my mouth, Nott." Snape ordered.

"Some things are best kept in-House, Snape." Macnair advised. "And Evans doesn't strike me as the joining type."

"Oh I don't know." Lestrange interjected with a sick grin. "Mulciber's gotten fairly adept at persuading people to go along with things."

Snape knew exactly what Lestrange was alluding to, as it would be unwise to discuss their extracurricular activities so out in the open. Still, Snape felt himself pale a bit as his peers talked so flippantly about the use of Unforgivable Curses.

"I believe I've had my fill of this conversation." Snape announced shortly as he headed off, but Avery caught his arm cast a look of warning upon him.

"I don't know what you think you're playing at." Avery hissed. "This isn't some club you join and abandon when convenient. Get that into you're head right now, because if the girl becomes a nuisance to us . . ."

"We won't do a thing." Lestrange's girlfriend interrupted with a sneer on her face. "That would be Severus's responsibility. After all, I think actions would speak louder than words when it comes to matters of loyalty amongst friends and family."

"Don't concern yourselves or anyone else with this." Snape insisted. "It's a moot point. My relationship with Evans does not exceed that of a fellow Prefect."

"Lucky for her, lucky for you." Nott shrugged.

Snape said nothing further and walked away from the other Slytherins. He had much to think about and was already running thin on patience when Lestrange's woman crowed deliberately loud enough for him to here.

"Did anyone else think Evans looked smashing out there with Potter?"

That was when Snape went white hot. Seething beneath he's typically restrained manner, Snape compelled himself to press on towards his room until he caught sight of Arabella chatting with some Ravenclaw girls with a drink in hand. Changing his plans, Snape swept over to the blond Gryffindor, looming darkly. Arabella gave him an odd sort of stare as she turned away from the other girls who quickly walked away to find one of Arabella's Gryffindor friends.

"Yes, Snape?" Arabella demanded, curious as to why he was particularly cross.

"I want to know right this moment, how much of this evening had been orchestrated in advance." Snape wasn't requesting. "Is this, yet another, elaborate Gryffindor prank to give the lot of you something laugh about in your common room?"

"No." Arabella said pointedly. "Our bi-weekly meeting of 'Gryffindors Devoted to Harassing Snape' or GDHS focused mostly on unscrewing your salt shakers and debooking you in the halls."

"Then do you have nothing better to do with your evening than ruin mine?" Snape hissed, referring to her perpetual meddling with Lily all evening.

Arabella set her drink down so she could cross her arms across her chest. The girls she had been speaking to were dragging Sirius, Peter, and Remus over to probably save her. Not wanting to be their damsel in distress, Arabella was determined to finish things up with Snape before they had to swoop in and save her.

"Snape, the most I set out to do was keep James amused and get him a dance with Lily. Past that is mostly something between you, her, and James." Arabella corrected. "In a way, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you because Lily seems genuinely fond of you for some inexplicable reason. But maybe you've landed yourself where you are as a repercussion of your unpleasant personality."

It was then the remaining Marauders stepped to Arabella's side, glancing from her to Snape as though trying to determine the situation. Snape was far too fixated on Arabella at the moment to even take heed of their presence.

"Perhaps this present insight can be attributed to your tightly drawn hair pull-starting that scattered brain of yours. Of course, then that would beg the question of why you were thick enough to let Potter treat you as his constellation prize the entire evening as he pined for Lily." Snape suggested coldly, as he went for blood. "I'm sure Potter would be impressed by your astute assessment of my situation; that is, if he's not done using you to get to your friend."

Arabella had the same reaction as though Snape had just slapped her in the face. Although Arabella would not have been sorted into Gryffindor if she could take on her own battles and show courage throughout them, Sirius, Peter, and Remus wouldn't be much of Gryffindors either if they didn't allow their chivalry to override this fact every once and again. Remus put a reassuring arm around Arabella without taking his fixed eyes off Snape. Peter stood by Arabella's other side for moral support while Sirius moved to the front of the Gryffindor pack and right to Snape's face. Sirius made sure that Snape couldn't even catch a glimpse of Arabella anymore.

"I think you should retract that." Sirius offered, through clenched teeth, silently hoping Snape refused.

"And why would that be?" Snape pressed Sirius growing more than tired of him at this point.

"Because you're going to feel pretty damn foolish once the irony of all this sinks in." Sirius promised.

"Enlighten me." Snape urged.

"You call Arabella a consolation prize because James went with her when he really wanted to be with Lily?" Sirius affirmed. "I'd think you'd be a little more sensitive to all this considering Lily would have gone with James if she hadn't promised to go with you first."

"I don't recall twisting Evans arm at any point." Snape curtly stated as a flicker of red accented his black eyes like a heating coal.

"Maybe not." Sirius relented. "But Arabella can at least say her date tonight took her as a friend who cared about her and wanted to have a good time. I don't think you've got anymore going for you than a professional courtesy from a girl whose generosity extends even to deplorable Slytherins with endless bitter moods."

"Done now, Black?" Snape questioned. "Have you vindicated your own ego enough for this evening? Or will we be privy to another spectacle of how looks and charm are everything you need in life if the most you care to be is a rank amateur? A wizard who's lasting echo upon the ages will either be his impressive host of social diseases or as the shadow of James Potter that is so vapidly portrayed that we come to crave the shallow presence of the original."

If Professor McGonagall hadn't been only 10 meters away, Sirius would have punched Snape right there. Not only for that final insult but every, single cruel and unnecessary thing he had said before to Sirius and those he cared about. Instead, Sirius tried a virtue that wasn't accustomed to him: patience.

"You know, Snape." Sirius had never given a person a more hateful look in all his life. "There are people in this world you can intimidate with your insults and pockets of influence, but there as things in life, things you should REALLY watch out for, that don't give a damn about either."

"Are you about to suggest you're one of these things, Black?" Snape scoffed.

"Oh no. But I'll be happy to introduce you." Sirius's face twisted with a manic smile, like he knew the joke when everyone else didn't. It was a cruel and malicious look. Snape would know since it resembled one of his own. Giving one final stare, Sirius walked off with Peter, Remus, and Arabelle close behind.

"Sirius, don't you EVER do that again!" Peter ordered. "That look you gave Snape will give me bloody nightmares."

Sirius just laughed. It struck the other three Gryffindors as more a maddened cackle than a healthy response to something he had found amusing.

"Thank you for coming to my defense." Arabella said meekly to the three boys. "He struck a nerve and I didn't know how to react."

"Yeah, Snape's brilliant at hitting nerves." Sirius brooded. "He's probably been a petty bastard all his life so he's had the practice."

"Come on; let's try to have a good night." Remus urged but Sirius shook his head.

"Nah." Sirius declined. "I need to walk about a bit, do some thinking. Snape's got me fuming so horribly that all I can think about is very bad things. You three go off and have a bit of fun though, hm? Peter, be a mate and make sure Debra gets back to her House with Mandy alright."

"Yeah, okay." Peter deflated a bit as yet another one of his friends was abandoning him for the evening.

"Guess we'll see you later than." Arabella bid farewell hesitantly as she led Remus off with her back to the dance floor and Sirius went for a long walk.

At some point, James and Lily had succeeded in working themselves onto the couch of the Gryffindor commons without breaking their kiss. Lily had her back pressed into the cushions of her sofa with James carefully situated on top of her. Lily's head slightly elevated against the armrest, allowing James easier access to her mouth and neck. It was completely silent in the room save for the soft moans and gasping breaths shared between the two as they continued to kiss and stroke their hands all over one another, gently and affectionately. Both Lily and James's minds were cleared of everything apart from the sensations coursing through them at the moment, but if there was a thought to be had, it was that this was how it should have been all along.

The tolling of the grandfather clock brought Lily and James back to reality and realized that it was now 11 o'clock. The two had been caught up in their passionate throws for nearly an hour and hadn't even bothered to notice. They lingered for a moment, regaining their breath and waiting for the chimes to finish. Memorizing Lily's features with the tips of his fingers as Lily rubbed her palm against the length of his neck, James released a reluctant sigh.

"We should probably stop." James admitted slightly frustrated. "People will probably be making there way back here soon and this is one show I don't feel like putting on for Hogwarts." James glanced over his shoulder as though he half expected someone to be walking in as soon as he had suggested it. Lily leaned forward and slowly began to kiss James; he closed his eyes, absorbed in the moment as Lily worked her mouth over to his ear.

"You're probably right. We could go back to my room." She spoke a throaty whisper James wasn't sure he had ever heard Lily use before but, then again, how many times had he been with her like this?

"Okay." What was James expected to say to that?

Hand in hand, Lily led the way up the stairs to her room and let herself and James inside before shutting the door. James realized this was his third visit to Lily's room but the first time all year he had been invited. The only light was from the pane of window. Against the fresh white snow, the moon made everything glow blue under its radiance. Lily gave no indication that she intended to turn on any additional lights and James was perfectly fine with things as they were.

Lily approached James slowly, placing open hands on his upper arm and neck. She nuzzled against his nape softly before she started kissing him once more. James held onto her by the back of her head and the small of her back. Carefully, James drew her back with him until he felt himself come against the side of her four-post bed. Lily pressed against him slightly and James pulled her onto the bed with him. They sat upon it, still kissing, still caressing one another until Lily broke away. She smiled apologetically as she undid the restraints that had kept her hair up all this time and let her waist length of hair wash over her frame.

Although she had been stunning when done up formally, James decided Lily looked her best when she was presented in a casual sort of way. Taking advantage of having her with him and so desirable, James bent forward and began to kiss her again. Feeling her hands indicating for such, James laid back and his head found a pillow somewhere on her bed. Lily was leaning in somewhat and used both her hands to carefully remove his spectacles. Folding the glasses into themselves, Lily placed them on her end stand along with the bobby pins that had been fastened in her hair. She joined at the mouth once again with James's.

Shifting positions on top the bed, Lily and James pretty much resumed everything they had enjoyed in the common room but things grew slightly more intimate when James felt Lily's hand touch against the bare flesh of his chest underneath his dress robes. Gasping slightly, James drew back and felt a fresh amount of blood rushing to his face. Swallowing hard, James didn't want to do something on an impulse and regret it later.

"Lily. . ." His voice was hesitant and uncertain.

"I'm fine, James." Lily assured softly as she rubbed her cheek against his affectionately. "I'm fine with anything at the moment."

James felt his eyes grow wide at the prospects of this. Both his breaths and the beating of his heart fell quicker, as he tried to study Lily's expression through the darkness without the benefit of his glasses.

"Are. . .are you implying . . ." James hoped he wasn't about to make a fool out of himself by somehow misreading the signals Lily was sending him.

"If . . .if you want to . . . " Was Lily's quiet reply.

Again, what was James expected to say to that?


	15. To Have or To Hold

To Have or To Hold

By: Oy! Angelina

Lily

Fate is the Scapegoat of Insecurities

I just said something I can't take back.

Would I if I could?

I don't really have a choice.

Free will is an illusion people maintain until they manage to realize how little their lives resemble anything they had intended.

I didn't intend for a lot of things in my life to happen.

Not to discover I was a witch at eleven or to attend a school that was better suited for a storybook compared to the world I had previously known.

Not to enjoy soaring popularity amongst my peers or the grandest of expectations from my professors.

My tenitive friendship with Severus Snape, the unrequited affections of Sirius Black, or my bittersweet dealing with James Potter were all things I had never meant to happen.

In fact, if I had possessed any sway over the course of my life, James and I would probably be rivals; after all how else were a diligent Prefect and a brilliant rogue expected to get along?

Fate is such a simpler notion to entertain, especially when, in spite of every resistance and hesitation on both our parts, James and I had found ourselves stumbling through a mutually awkward attraction, far past a close friendship, and on the brink of something I can only imagine love would resemble.

I can certainly say I hadn't expected I would be spending a glorious Christmas day with James and our friends that seemed to make us exempt from the usual complications of our lives if only for a few hours. Or to have it all lead into a night where I finally confess my feeling to James himself and invite him to my room after an hour of snogging.

Most assuredly, the last thing I would have ever anticipated was wanting to experience something with James that I consider to be the most intimate of acts two people could share in all their lives, let alone after months of discord and uncertainty followed up by an evening of tribulation soul searching.

I had never meant for this, of all things, to happen, but it is.

James seems so surprised when I had alluded to what was in both our hearts. Of course, I bet it would surprise everyone to see Lily Evans like this.

I know how the students see me; I've heard whispers when people thought I couldn't hear. Most were meant to be compliments or observations; a few serve as slander. Still, the overall census of my peers at Hogwarts has me labeled as some unapproachable beauty that is gracious, but distant; charming, though somehow hollow. A candidate not only for Headgirl but perfection personified to be left upon her pedestal; unattainable to the world below.

The faculty is far less candid in their opinions; however they are still available to glean. A model student who serves as exemplary proof (or an obnoxious reminder in those rare instances) that Muggle-Borns can rise to become some of the most talented members of the wizarding community. I'm a fair and exacting Prefect and will go on to become a tribute of the education Hogwarts provides for fledgling witches and wizards.

The sentiments of my professors and peers are probably not all that far from how Severus Snape would describe me; however he would have a few unique insights of his own to contribute: primarily my pushover tactics in discipline and indecisive nature in anything regarding my personal life.

We cannot forget my family where I'm a medley of pride and shame. A daughter, praised and accepted; a sister, resented and ignored all in the same home.

How can so many eyes be on me, but not a single one can manage to see me for what I really am?

Or am I the one whose blind?

I can't be sure anymore.

What does James see when he looks at me like that?

Does he see me as everyone else would? As someone far too pristine to ever know or understand? A proper epitome of the excellence Hogwarts expects from its student? An unconfident girl who's too easily swayed? Or just some thoroughly accomplished freak?

I can't ask him. I'm too busy tasting James.

His hands are on my face, on my sides. He won't touch me anywhere else.

Is this because you respect me? Are you savoring the moment? Am I not attractive to you?

I'm so insecure.

Whenever we break our kiss, he's always trying to stare straight into my eyes. It's so piercing and knowing. I'd feel violated if I didn't trust him so much now. Why couldn't I always have trusted him like I'm willing to now? Maybe that's why we're still only kissing and holding one another.

I'm being punished for doubting him.

It's torture to be caught between two extremes like this. The stagnation connecting ecstasy and contentment makes every last moment stretch farther than either my patience or self-control. There has to be release somehow.

James seems hesitant, should I be too?

Is he going to reject me? I don't know if I can handle that.

Doesn't he want me? I thought he did.

He said he loved me once . . .no one has ever told me that before . . .that should mean something, right? There should be something tangible to prove that, shouldn't there?

Maybe he doesn't want to sleep with me.

My reputation is intimidating . . .he probably thinks that's me. How could he dishonor such an investment of the school? I'm nothing but a string of words echoing through hallways.

Who wants to sleep with concept?

The Lily Evans Hogwarts knows is an invention of public opinion. She has all the substance of the very shadow I cast and yet, it's impossible for me to ever be free of her since she dogs my every step.

She can't be real because then what does that make me?

A hapless puppet to follow through the motions as the world dictates them? Should I resign myself to a life under an Imperius Curse cast by everyone around me?

What does that make you, James?

An inconvenience? A distraction? A savior?

I think I could love you, James, I'm willing to prove that now. The connection, the chemistry, it wouldn't be here if it didn't mean something, would it? Why would I feel this way if it weren't right, if I didn't truly want this for myself? For us?

You broke away the surface of the proxy version of myself that everyone seemed so fond of and found something I don't think either of us expected.

Me.

I want to be close to you. I want to connect with you. To be intimate; of and with you in anyway either of us can imagine. The rapport is already there, as though it were born into us. Is this fate? I know you don't care for Divination, but maybe some things are ordained with or without our consent. Maybe I was meant to someday love you and, if that's true, then that would mean you would eventually know me as I've allowed no other to: physically or spiritually.

What does it matter if it all happens tonight or somewhere else down the line?

What does it mean that I want you to make love to me, James? Am I choosing this for myself . . .or is it just another motion of my life I'm expected to follow through on?

The debt I owe is so very long overdue. I will repay you for every gesture of kindness and admission of affection you have ever extended me with something I have never offered another and can never give again once you accept it. This is how things should be tonight because this is how things are meant to be many nights after this one has passed to morning.

After all, free will is for people who have yet to realize too much of their life has gone astray

James

What Can We Say With Certainty?

I have never felt more conflicted in my entire seventeen years of life than I do at that moment.

She's haunted me like some waking dream, something that is impossible to remember but I wouldn't ever allow myself to forget . . .

You've been with me since the beginning even though you never knew you were there: a glimpse in the hall, a body in a classroom, and a whisper in my ears.

What could I ever say to you? Of course we spoke, conversed, even laughed together, but was it ever about anything relevant until this past year?

Was it ever about us?

There are entire years of our lives we waste with silence.

My life has been a reflection through a broken mirror since my family died. I couldn't even be sure of what I was looking at, let alone expect anyone else to see clearly. Splintered with gaps awkwardly placed between, I was there enough to be noticed but impossible to understand.

It was then you walked up to me and gave me a sliver of glass to work with before walking away. You kept coming back to me, each time with another piece in hand. I found more of myself through you than with any other person who was ever there before you, but all I could do was hold what you had returned to me; cold, tarnished, and painful, because I didn't know where to begin. When I asked you to stay and help me gradually fasten the parts of myself back together that had long since fell apart, you accepted and I knew I would be fine from then on.

Never once did you look at my reflection until the last silver fragment was in place. You were the first person to ever see me so close to whole after I had lost so much and that was the only me you ever had to worry yourself with knowing. I will always be cracked in the certain parts of myself you never had the power to fix, but don't worry. You have given me back so much I thought I'd never see again and returned some things I never even knew I had.

I've found my voice.

I can't use it. Your mouth is over mine. I want it there.

Actions speak louder than words.

I think I love you.

Can you tell?

I've tried so hard to make you understand.

Did you notice?

Your hands are running through my hair.

I'll give you everything if you'd ask it of me. What more would you claim of mine?

You asked me for something I had assumed I would be the first to request when we found that point in our relationship.

Is that now? Did I miss it? Are you sure?

I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend tonight . . .I wasn't going to ask to make love to you.

I'm holding you; your words linger in my ears as though you're saying them over and over. I can't breath.

How can I say no; I've gotten this far with you?

How can I say yes; I've gotten this far with you?

Are there rules to attraction? I think I may have broken some in chasing after you. I don't feel ashamed now. Is that wrong?

I wanted the girl by best friend had desired.

I'm disloyal. . .

. . .but I might be in love.

I kissed her behind his back; the taste of her mouth and tears stayed with me for weeks.

I'm duplicitous

. . .but I might be in love.

I refused to give in despite of my best friend's feelings.

I'm selfish. . .

. . .but I might be in love.

I told her we could be friends but didn't want that.

I'm a liar . . .

. . .but I might be in love

I said I was fine with her going to the dance with my rival, but I couldn't bear it.

I'm weak . . .

. . .but I might be in love.

I told her I loved her.

I'm uncertain. . .

. . .but I might be in love.

So does this mean love makes everything alright? That if I love you, then no one would care if I expressed it in the way you asked?

I find anticipating the rare movements you're flustered, disheveled, angry, crying, unsure, and vulnerable. It's not because I like to see you feeling these things or know that you're suffering somehow, but I want to feel needed. You don't need me in your moments of grace, charm, or strength.

You don't need anyone.

You're so many of these things at the moment, I can tell.

Do you need me now?

I want to be there for you.

Forget about everyone . . .just think of me.

I'll do the same for you. I've done it since we came back here.

I have a voice.

If I use it and say yes, even if it's silently, if I just undress you and myself and keep you close to me, will you think of me and know I'm thinking of you?

I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend tonight.

Does that make it alright then?

I might love you.

Can I be certain of that right now before things go farther?

I shouldn't unless I'm sure.

I respect you. I care about you. I can't hurt you anymore.

Why can't I be sure? Why do I have these hesitations?

Does this mean I don't love you after all? What am I doing to you then? What else would I do to you?

No, in my heart I know I love you.

That's why I'm hesitating.

How many times did I nearly lose you to something I did without thinking?

So much time. . .so much more to feel and experience with you.

The years won't be silent anymore for either of us.

Do I we need to say everything this moment?

I've found my voice.

James pulled away from Lily.

It had to be James, as Lily was offering no indication she was planning to slow things up. She searching his face, her lips slightly parted. She was expecting him to say or do something. After all, why else would he have stopped this?

James searched for words. Ones that would make sense of his feelings and make sense to Lily if she heard them. Why are such words always so hard to find when you need them?

James tried his voice.

"Lily . . ."

It's like his thoughts were sticky. Every time he tried to force one out, it would get caught on something. He didn't know how to say what he was feeling right that instant. It didn't help that every physical reaction of his body was adamantly protesting what he was preparing to say.

". . .I don't think. . .I mean . . .this is very sudden for me." James started, swallowing hard. Lily appeared to be contemplating this a little as she bit her lower lip, but it wasn't long before nuzzled her face against his.

"Since when has anything ever been to sudden for you, James?" Lily whispered as traces her mouth along the features of his face. "You've always been so straight forward, even brash with me in the past. Practically any time we've kissed, it was because you leaned in first and, if I recall properly, you were the boy brought up snogging and shagging back at Diagon Alley."

It's always nice when things come back to haunt you.

James groaned within.

He also groaned from aloud in response to the way Lily was kissing him. James had half a mind to surrender right there but managed to resist in spite of everything both his body and, seemingly, Lily wanted. Once again he pulled away, this time he kept a hand to Lily's face and a firmer one around her upper arm to hopefully keep her at bay until he had said his piece.

"That is a very excellent point, but those are also very different things." James labored in a pant. "Trust me, I'm warring with myself over this even as I'm speaking Lily. But, it's just so fast, so unexpected."

"So, you don't. . .you don't want to . . ." Lily found it difficult to attempt the words.

"Of course I do." James doubted he had ever meant anything more in his life. "But you can't always get what you want."

"But I'm telling you . . ." Lily persisted; a hurt expression had begun to surface on her face. "Do you want me to beg, James?"

James was stunned. Lily looked so vulnerable, so uncertain. He wanted to reach out and hold her, but knew he couldn't. That innocent gesture might sway him into less innocent ones. James was unsure if he could trust himself to do what was right if Lily found her way back into his arms before they resolved this. Rising to his feet, James faced Lily on the bed. Reflexively, he felt his hand start raking his hair nervously.

"Lily, I think we need to REALLY discuss this before anything else happens." James insisted. "I don't think we really understand what one another is feeling presently and, well, I want to know what you want and you should hear the same from me as well."

"Okay, of course." Lily still felt vulnerable and a little bit frustrated, but she was willing to listen. She didn't want to bully James into anything and maybe if they spoke from their hearts things would work themselves out for what was best.

Guessing he still had the floor, James spoke on.

"The thing is. . ." James started carefully. He didn't want to provoke any misunderstandings with this. "…Well things have always been so hot running with us, Lily. There's so much passion and emotion coursing through whatever relationship we've had at the time and I think we've both been responsible for some pretty rash decisions on account of that. I don't want this to be just the latest entry in things we could have gone about differently."

James wondered if he wanted Lily to say something that would persuade him over to her side of thinking. He had to say he was tempted to go along with her, but he couldn't do that unless she said something, anything that could compel him to believe this was the only rational thing to do.

"Don't you think I'm being sincere?" Lily asked.

"Absolutely!" James affirmed. "You're not the sort of girl who would be flippant about something like this, but I've never seen you so. . .well . . .impulsive about something either. I guess I'm not sure of what to make of it."

"Why does it have to mean anything more than what I said?" Lily demanded. Was James so transfixed by that image everyone had thrust upon her that he needed a petition with everyone's signature present before they could proceed? "Why are you so worried about whether or not this is like me? I thought you knew who I was?"

"I do." James confessed. "And, this just doesn't seem like the you I know and want to share something this significant with. I guess what I'm getting at here is, I'm not entirely certain of what your motivations are in all this."

Lily wasn't sure what she should make of all this. James was describing it as though she were somehow out of control. Some one doing things for all the wrong reasons.

Was that right?

"What do you mean my 'motivations'?" Lily looked at James quizzically. "You speak as though I'm trying to pull a fast one on you."

"No, nothing of the sort!" James insisted. "Look, I'm getting flustered and that's starting to make me phrase things as stupidly as I can manage them out."

James dared to approach Lily and sit next to her on the bed; he took her hands into his and looked her straight in the eyes. That exacting look was always so powerful to Lily.

"Lily, I care about you so completely I can't even begin to describe it." James confessed. "So much of me was hoping something like this would happen and when you met me in the common room earlier, a part was hoping it would be tonight . . .but that side of me hasn't done the most right by you in the past and that's why I HAVE to hesitate on this decision."

"Are you afraid you're going to hurt me?" Lily probed and she rubbed James's hands beneath her fingers.

She didn't want to ask.

She didn't want to know the answer.

She had to ask.

"Why, are you not sure you want to be with me past tonight?"

James felt as though he had just been winded out of nowhere.

"Lily, that's my entire point in all this." James spoke with in a quiet and earnest tone. "I'm not sure if I have you like this right now I'll be able to keep hold of you, and that's what's important to me. I want to make love to you; I just not need to this very moment. You're all I need, Lily. I can wait for anything if I have you."

Lily listened to James and heard what was important to him.

Them.

She thought about what she had been asking of him and felt foolish. Lily assumed she was so desperately trying to prove some kind of point to everyone that she forgot she had nothing to prove with James. His feelings for her and his desire to be with her were attached to all the very best reasons a person could want to connect with another. She had been difficult, distant, demanding, and combative; but James ignored all that and still found the energy to make things work between them. Only something deep and heartfelt could overcome all the obstacles they had thrown out at one another. And here they were, on the verge of something so consuming and relevant; something they weren't entirely ready for. Lily didn't want what she thought she had anymore.

She wanted what James wanted for them.

"I'm so sorry." Lily's eyes drifted from James. "You're right. I'm ashamed of what I've been putting you through."

"Don't." James soothed as he hugged her; relieved this wouldn't be the end of them. "Please don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong."

"So what do we do now?" Lily asked as she buried herself into James's arms, allowing all her senses to experience him at that moment.

"Does it matter so long as it's together?" James shrugged with a smile. Together . . .that's what they were now.

Together.

"You could still stay." Lily offered. "We could just hold each other. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

James felt his hands drift over Lily's back as he tried to somehow hold her closer to him than he had already managed. He thought about trying to leave her now, after spending all this time trying to be with her, just as they were, and realized it was a completely futile fight.

"I'd like to stay." James decided. Lily looked up at his and smiled. She gently kissed him on the chin, before pulling him by the hand toward the headboard of her bed. James rested at her side, refusing to let his arms relinquish her. He felt one of her arms cross over her waist while the other held his cheek.

They laid like that for hours, occasionally gazing or smiling at each other in the dark. Some times they kissed, not with the passion they had possessed before, but all the affection still alive in the gesture.

At some point they fell asleep in one another's arms.

At another point, they each awoke without the other knowing.

Lily studied James, breathing shallowly through his mouth with his hair more scattered than she assumed possible. Her eyes memorized his every feature as though she were afraid she might forget. Lily would have assumed this was a dream, but they were never this perfect or happy. She smiled at James in the darkness.

A smile he would never be able to see.

It's the kind of smile you can only give someone when you know they can't see it. People are most honest when they believe no one is watching. Just the slightest turn of the lips and entire illumination of the eyes as, when you're watching a person most dear, you're seeing every single quality that drew you to and kept you with them.

It's the only way someone can still manage to adore someone from afar when they are so completely enveloped in their hearts.

Lily felt James shift as he pulled her closer to him in his sleep. His cheek rubbed against her forehead as he sighed in his dreams. Lily closed her eyes and smiled once more, as she knew James loved her even as he slept.

When she stirred, Lily had awoke James unintentionally. He didn't mind. It meant he got to watch her sleep again.

Lily was on her back, hand still touching his face. Every so often, a muscle spasm would cause her fingers to caress him ever so slightly. Her long locks of hair snaked across her face and form like vines upon a statue. Lily's expression was completely placid save for the occasional fluttering of her eyelids, showing that she dreamed. James wish he could see her like this awake.

Lily was always so high strung and preoccupied with something that James wasn't sure he had ever seen her relaxed until this moment. Calm and without a worry to cross her face, James decided he would do everything he could to bring the serenity she showed while dreaming to her waking hours.

Not satisfied with having her no longer in his arms, James adjusted himself slightly and coaxed Lily gently back to is grasp, careful not to disturb her slumber. On his back, James held Lily slightly on top of him with both arms holding her to his chest. He felt her breathing gently across his neck and closed his eyes.

To have or to hold?

James knew what to say to that.


	16. Unofficially Yours

Unofficially Yours

By: Oy! Angelina

The first signs of morning crept through the curtains and into Lily's room. James stirred before awaking groggily. For her part, Lily sighed and turned a bit more onto her side of the bed, still asleep. James thought she was positively adorable in that instant. Cuddling against her, James realized he was wide-awake now but was more than content to continue holding Lily like this all day.

But the day had started already, hadn't it? And it wouldn't be all that long before the rest of their House who had remained for the holidays awoke and became a part of it. What then? Was he supposed to stroll out, arm in arm with Lily and invite a barrage of rumors to greet them in the place of "good mornings" or "hellos"?

Certain he'd like to keep as much of his private life a…well private, as he could, James reluctantly decided that he should be on his way. Gently taking her face into his hand, James leaned in and kissed Lily, hoping this would pleasantly rouse her from her dreams. He didn't want to leave without saying a brief goodbye first.

Her eyes fluttered open and she appeared to be more asleep than awake. A happy murmuring noise hummed from her lips as she smiled at James.

"Morning already?" The words passed out in a sigh.

"Yes." James smiled back at her. "I should be going before anyone notices I wasn't in my bed all night."

"You only have to really worry about the Prefect, now don't you?" Lily teased as she stretched a bit in place.

"Well, I'm looking to evade slander not punishment with this." James kissed her forehead. "Got our good names to thinks about. Okay, I've got YOUR good name to think about."

"I'll go with you anyway." Lily offered through a mumble. She wasn't exactly sure where they were heading but it couldn't be all that bad if James was going to be along. James smiled and shook his head.

"You're half asleep, love." James observed affectionately as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "You rest a bit more and we'll have breakfast together, hm?" Lily sighed again as though she intended to argue this, but closed her eyes, taking James's advice instead.

"Just as well, you're a bed hog anyway." Lily teased with a sleepy smile as she rolled over to his side of the bed. It was still warm from where James had been laying. Lily took in a deep breath of the pillow so she could smell his hair with a content smile.

"I don't have to take that from the cover monger." James smirked as he pushed her hair off her face and debated whether or not he should actually leave. Not tired in the least, James would be more than happy to simply hold her while she slept. Of course, each moment he lingered made it more likely that the other members of the House would be up and about and James didn't have the benefit of his invisibility cloak to conceal his departure of Lily's room from watchful eyes.

"I'll see you in a bit, Lily." James promised both her and himself, as he couldn't help but kiss her goodbye once more before he made his way over to her bedroom door and seized the handle in a cautious grip.

Acting like some common criminal as he stealthily crept out of Lily's room, James preferred this feeling to explaining why he was sneaking out of Lily's bedroom with the disheveled clothing he had been wearing yesterday to any of the other Gryffindors. James could only hope everyone was far too worn out for the ball last night to be up an about this early. After making it free and clear of Lily's room without being seen, James determined a shower and change would be a good investment of his time.

Damn. James thought while rolling his eyes. Guess I better get ready to start explaining myself away to my nosy prat friends.

Entering his room in the boys' dormitory, James was a little surprised to see that Peter was the only one there. Rolling over in his bed, Peter sat up and stared at James with something of a raised eyebrow.

"So you're the first one to wonder back in?" Peter croaked out. James shot Peter a quizzical look.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Well, unless Padfoot and Moony snuck about without my hearing…" Peter deduced being something of a light sleeper. "…They've been out all night much like yourself."

"Well where do you reckon they've been?" James pondered aloud to Peter. The pudgy boy shrugged while giving off a yawn.

"Can't be sure." Peter admitted. "I would have assumed you three up and ditched me if you hadn't all gone your respective ways last night."

"Do you suppose our boys got lucky a bit?" James grinned mischievously as he picked out something to wear for the day.

"Good question." Peter seemed to wake up a bit with the speculation. "Doubtful on Padfoot's part, I'd say. Last I saw Sirius, he got all manic after a furry of words with Snape and went off on his own. He's been looking to get at Snape for about a month now and I think last night only added fuel to the fire."

"Missed something, did I?" James asked.

"Snape didn't much fancy Lily walking out on their date and took it out a bit on Arabella." Peter reported. James made a face.

"Lousy git." James muttered. "It's not right for Snape to lash out at her if his quarrel is with me." His sense of chivalry was more than antagonized at the moment and had half a mind to storm into the dungeons and chew Snape.

"Don't bother yourself too much with it, Arabella's fine." Peter assured. "Sirius jumped in and gave Snape something to brew over and Remus was practically joined at the hip with the girl."

"Really?" James's eyes lit up. He had asked Remus to keep Arabella entertained, but… "So they seemed to be hitting it off then?"

"Well considering he's not here at the moment, I'd say so." Peter shared his friend's smiled. "Reckon this could be the start of something, Prongs?"

"Who knows?" James tried not to get excited over this news since they had not idea what this all meant, but it was hard to not be optimistic on his friend's behalf. Remus was so much more reserved and pensive than the rest of them. A vivacious girl like Arabella could do wonders to bring a more social side out of him.

"So since absolutely nothing interesting happened to me last night, reward my mundane existence by telling me first what YOU'VE been up to? Peter pressed eagerly. "I'll wager you had a more eventful night than the lot of us put together!"

"Oh hardly." James tried to modestly pass off as he felt himself get flustered.

"Come on! No secrets between Marauders!" Peter wouldn't let up. "That's what you always say!"

"That's NOT what I always say!" James laughed indignantly. "That's just the guilt trip we lay on one another when we think someone's holding out." James sighed and debated what to say. Why is it the moment something interesting happens in your private life people all of a sudden think its public domain?

"If you tell me, I'll insist you were here all night to Remus and Sirius." Peter generously offered with a wicked grin. "That is, of course, unless you want THEM to pursue the line of questioning."

James considered how horrible his two other friends would make his life with their teasing and assumptions and figured this was about the best offer he was going to get.

"Okay, you extorting prat." James sighed, running his hand through his hair.

Peter beamed a smug smile and perked up so as not to miss a detail. He almost never got news like this straight from James. Any major confessions like these were usually passed along to Peter second hand through Remus or Sirius (mostly Sirius since Remus was better about keeping secrets) or it was some sort of announcement made to them on a whole. It's not that they deliberately excluded him, was Peter's impression, it just seemed like the three boys were always just a bit more closely packed together than he was with them. Being the first to hear James's revelation made Peter feel special. Worthy. Someone to be confided in. Peter would have felt guiltier about having to blackmail his friend to get the news if he wasn't positive Remus, Sirius, or James (under different circumstances) wouldn't have done the exact same thing.

Male friendships were, in the same instant, both complicated and simple to grasp.

"I was with Lily all night…get that look off your face this moment, Wormtail before I come over there! Alright then? Fine. Nothing unmentionable, though I'm still not going to mention anything mind you, happened and I just ended up sleeping there overnight. Not a single scandalous thing to mention, 'cept I think we're unofficially a couple at the moment." James said that last part with a bit of an awkward smile as Peter beamed deliriously.

Now that he had said it aloud, James was actually glad he had told Peter first instead of his other friends. It was nothing personal against the other two, but Sirius could only bother with being serious under the direst of circumstances and would take to teasing James (albeit in an affectionate manner) rather than offer anything constructive. Remus was along the same lines as Sirius (though infinitely worse when Padfoot's "good influence" was present) but he would usually let up after a few dry quips and say something supportive or insightful.

James would probably confide in Peter more if he wasn't so concerned that he was coming across as bragging. Not that James really needed or desired to deflate those around him to make himself feel better, but he had long ago got the impression that Peter was far more sensitive and easily threatened by other people's good fortune than either Sirius or Remus. Still, Peter was far easier to relate to at times. He was pretty upfront with whatever his feelings were and if he was happy for you, he would make sure it was genuinely known.

Much like this time around.

"That's bloody excellent news!" Peter declared enthusiastically as he leapt of his bed to congratulate James with a firm pat on the back. He paused only when a thoughtful expression overtook his face. "Hold on, unofficially?"

Peter waited for this to be explained

"Well, I haven't properly asked her yet, but I intend to." James clarified. "But it looks like I'm pretty much attached to Lily Evans."

"Oh to hell with that! We all knew you were attached to her!" Peter laughed. "But now you're dating her!"

"Yeah, who'd have figured with everything that's been going on huh?" James shrugged, still trying to believe everything himself. Peter was still grinning somewhat like an idiot, marveling over his friend's happy news.

"Well, I bet you'll come up with some dazzling way to get Lily to be your girl!" Peter boasted on James's behalf.

Peter's confidence was something James wished he could barrow at the moment.

"Yeah, just wait and see!" James hoped he sounded convincing as he gestured toward the bathroom. "I'm just going to get cleaned up for the day, hm?"

Peter waved him off still grinning. James was turned away from him so Wormtail couldn't see the brooding expression on his friend's face.

It wasn't that James thought Lily would reject him, but there would be a certain amount expectation attached to how he did it. James would need to come up with something memorable and endearing as a credit to Lily and he felt completely stumped as to how to accomplish this. He considered having his friends brainstorm with him on this but then he remembered who his friends were.

Sirius had experience with women (truth be told, possibly a little too much experience with women) but probably wouldn't be of much help when it came to courting a single one. That and he would use it as an excuse to try and weasel out some more guarded details from James.

Remus would mean well and probably offer something salvageable on the topic, but his personality was such a sharp contrast to James's own that it was unlikely they would be able to make two ends meet long enough to get anything accomplished. Also, Remus's limited experience with the opposite sex might have an impact on the advice offered.

And Peter, well, he was mostly in the same boat as Remus when it came to dating and he'd probably be so caught up in the notion of giving James help that not a whole lot would get done.

James sighed and tried to come up with anyone who might know Lily that he could talk to. Lily was a tad reclusive, which meant she probably didn't have a great many intimate contacts that could serve to help him aside from Arabella. While this was a promising prospective (girl's opinion and all), James thought it would be a bit tacky of him to ask her advice on wooing Lily when she herself had harbored feelings for him only a few weeks prior. Of course, if she was moving on to Remus then there wasn't much harm, was there? James stretched his imagination for other people he'd seen Lily get along well with that he knew.

There was Severus Snape…

…Who would probably recommend that James jump up his own ass and die.

Okay, Arabella then?

James decided to focus on taking a shower presently with a sigh.

It occurred to James somewhere between rinsing and repeating that he might write to Frank Longbottom for a bit of insight on the matter. After all, the man had managed to get himself married so he must have gleaned some small amount of wisdom on dating. Figuring if he hurried along, he could get an owl out that very morning and maybe hear from Frank in the next day or two. This would give James a chance to talk with Arabella in the meantime and hopefully be well on his way to something. He'd also have to keep Lily happy without having her suspect he had something up his sleeve.

Nothing like a challenge, eh Prongs? James thought to himself as he exited the bathroom, working a towel through his mess of hair. Peter seemed to have given up on the idea of getting back to sleep at this point but was still putting off getting dressed as he was presently pouring over a Quidditch magazine with interest. James sat over at his desk and pulled some writing supplies in front of him. Needing his specs if he was going to be able to see what he was composing, James looked all over his side of the room before giving up and asking Peter.

"Wormtail, you didn't happen to notice where I set down my glasses did you?" James called over his shoulder.

"Umm…" Peter glanced about the room for a minute before he turning towards James. "Actually, I don't recall you wearing them when you came in this morning."

James searched his memory briefly, before he realized Peter was right.

"Bloody hell, I left them at Lily's." James groaned. On nights when he didn't get a particularly large amount of sleep, James's vision was always a little bit blurry coupled with the fact he didn't have a particularly strong prescription of glasses to begin with and all the excitement attached to where he had spent the night, he hadn't even noticed he didn't have them on.

"Well go get them." Peter shrugged obviously.

"Oh now how would that look?" James sighed, imagining someone catching him at Lily's door getting his glasses back.

"I'll go, then." Peter offered, already folding up the magazine and pushing himself off his bed.

"No you won't!" James pointed for Peter to sit back down in a commanding gesture. "I'd rather be a indecent bed hopper than have to explain to Lily why YOU know I left my specs with her! I guess I'll just have to wait until I see her next and manage on through."

"You're not blind, are you?" Peter asked. "We could get Sirius to be one of those Seeing Eye Dogs we read up on in Muggle Studies."

"I'm fine." James assured abruptly and attempted his letter to Frank without benefit of 20/20 vision.

1976, Dec. 26th

Dear Frank:

Hope you had a lovely holiday with the Longbottom family. Mine was good as well. I plan on writing you a proper letter regarding this but I have something of an urgent question that I need your reply upon.

Lily, the girl I told you about, well she and I seem to have really hit it off and we're at the point where I can ask her to be my girl and have it be a respectable sort of arrangement. Bloody thing about this is I have no idea how to do this! I could prank Slytherin House with a wand up my nose and concussion to the head, but I can't figure out a good means to ask Lily about going out with me!

In short, anything you can offer would be a godsend since I'm a bit on the clueless side in all this.

Hurry before I die alone,

James Potter

p.s. Thank you once again for the plum cake.

James made his way to the Owlry to send off his post to Frank with Wifflesnip; his Eagle Owl that, to both their misfortune, had been named by James when he was six. James promised Wifflesnip his weight in bacon if he could get a reply as soon as possible.

Drifting back into the Gryffindor common room, James found Sirius and Remus chatting (changed and damp from a shower), probably about whatever it was they had respectively done with their evenings.

"Oy, Prongs!" Sirius greeted as he motioned for James to join them amidst the squashy chairs. Obliging his friends, James sat down smiling while secretly hoping no one noticed his lack of eyewear.

"Alright, what am I missing?" James tried to catch back up.

"Sirius was just giving me an account of where he was all evening." Remus replied as he turned back to Sirius. James looked to his friends, as well, with interest.

"Oh, I decided to play a sporting game of tag with Filch to keep me occupied and vent some frustrations." Sirius explained with a mischievous grin. "I'd leave taunting notes to antagonize the git and kept mostly to the hidden passages just to make sure I didn't get caught. Had him screaming in fits and trying to persuade Peeves into helping him track me down around four or so."

The three shared a laugh while shaking their heads at something so typically Sirius, which usually translated to the things that had amused the rest of them when they were 13 years old, still amused Sirius.

"He's going to know it was you." Remus informed. "You're the biggest troublemaking prat to stay over for the holiday. Simple matter of deduction and it doesn't help that he hates you."

"Nah, he'll think it was James or the lot of us." Sirius shrugged. "He knows were a team and he probably doesn't figure me to be the brains of it."

"Always thought Filch was a scary judge of character." Remus joked, prompting Sirius to roll his eyes with a smile.

"If you're going to take us down with you, Padfoot, can you make it something a tad more noble than a game of cat and mouse with the crotchety caretaker?" James requested.

"Fine, next time I'll blow up a toilet or something." Sirius offered with a shrug before grinning at James. "And what did WE do last night?"

"You know what I did." James passed his tone off as casual. "Came back here early on from the Ball and waited around our room until Peter got back."

"Oh, I'm afraid I'll be calling shenanigans on that, James." Sirius shook his head in a chiding manner.

"We know you're lying, Prongs." Remus smirked as he held up Lily's purse and tiara she had from the night before. James attempted to keep a straight expression through the half anticipated inquiry.

"So?" James tried to sound unimpressed by this evidence. "She could have easily left them down here without any help from me."

"We would have thought that too if we hadn't gotten a slightly different account from Peter." Sirius's tone was sympathetic but his smile was mocking. James felt the expression of surprise seize his face and threw himself deep into his chair, arms crossed in frustration.

"Damn it, Wormtail!" James groaned, angry at his friend's poor ability to manage a secret. "He swore he wouldn't breath a word!"

James watched as Remus and Sirius's expressions both lit up as smiles stretched across their faces. It was then that James figured out Peter hadn't betrayed his word after all.

"Oh BLOODY HELL, we were bluffing!" Sirius sputtered a laugh out with Remus joining him, both their eyes wide with amazement. "We HAD just figured she left them in the common room by accident. I wanted to see if I threw out Peter's name if you'd bite!"

James felt his jaw go slack as he slapped his hand over his exasperated face. He used to be a lot better at spotting the lines Sirius and Remus would bait him with, but evidently falling for Lily had left him prone to lapses into drooling stupidity. He could feel his friends smirking to one another.

"Well, no point in keeping up your intricate web of lies now." Remus shrugged with a bit of a grin. "Out with it, then."

"Absolutely!" Sirius leaned in as he began counting off on his fingers. "I want details, quotes, positions, and did she happen to call out my name at ANY point throughout?"

"I think I rather hate you at the moment, Sirius." James replied dispassionately before a sly grin crossed his face and he turned toward Remus. "Besides I think I'd much rather hear about what Remus and Arabella were up to last night."

Sirius's face lit up as though someone had just given him a crate of explosives and a "get out of expulsion free" card as he completely ignored James in favor of pursuing this new revelation. Remus threw James a traitorous look, before he attempted to be stoic as Sirius began his usual style of badgering; which mainly consisted of freaky accusations and the most debase line of thinking imaginable.

"You and Arabella?"

"I never said that."

"James said that."

"And James is a wanker at the moment."

"So did you snog?"

"Sirius - "

"More than snog! Oh Merlin! Don't tell me, I fear I may blush!"

"Sirius!"

"I knew you were never as ill as you came off! Just saving up your energy for when it counted, hm? So how many times, you randy dynamo of sexual endurance?"

"SIRIUS!"

Satisfied with his effective distraction, James left his friends to their own devises and would sort out the details later. Sirius was presently seated on top of Remus so he couldn't run away. When Remus refused to offer anything on his own, Sirius engaged in a bizarre and perverted game of 20 questions that seemed to make Remus grow redder (from rage or embarrassment James couldn't tell) with each passing one. James hoped this would teach Remus first-hand how intrusive such questions could be.

Sirius had precious little shame so James doubted he'd much get the point.

Just as James was making his way up the dormitory stairs to see what Peter was up to, Lily came down dressed for the day with the addition of his glasses on her face.

"Look what I found when I woke up this morning." Lily smiled at him. "I think they're rather fashionable on me, wouldn't you agree. Come on, you mentioned something to me about breakfast early and I'm famished." Lily grabbed James by the arm and tugged him after her.

James attempted to stutter out a reply or warning but realized Sirius and Remus had gone suddenly quiet. Lily and James stepped into the common room and saw Remus and Sirius were frozen in mutual chokeholds; Lily and James were frozen as they tried to discern how much the two had heard. Judging by their grins, more than enough.

Bounding over the furniture, Sirius was flashing a toothy grin at the two of them. Lily felt her mouth go slack a bit and James reclaim his glasses and replace them on his face.

"Thank you." James groaned.

"Whatcha two been doing?" Sirius asked as though he had a very good idea of what it might be. "And when did you make plans for breakfast?"

Lily was completely stunned into silence. Remus was leaning over the side of the chair, smiling at James smugly.

"Sirius, you know a gentleman never asks and a lady never tells." Remus teased. "Of course, you don't pass much for a gentlemen so see what you can get out of them for me, hm?"

"Working on it, Moony." Sirius assured as he was shifting his gaze between Lily and James. "So, I think it should be stated that I taught James everything he knows, Lily, and if you ever get tired of dealing with the middle man…well, I'm more than willing to close my ever-open door for you."

Sirius loved antagonizing James and was rewarded with watching his friend develop a nervous twitch near his eye. Still amazed at how repressed James could be at times, Sirius need to see how far he could joke with Lily before lines were crossed. After all, it's not as though she would survive very long amongst them if she couldn't roll with a few punches now and again.

Remus was more interested in getting James back for setting Sirius on him with a vengeance than whatever the two had been doing. He was sorry that Lily had to be subjected to Sirius like this but happy to see James look thoroughly uncomfortable at the moment.

Both Sirius and Remus were surprised when they watched Lily turn scarlet with embarrassment and dawn a cross look upon her face.

"Alright! That is QUITE enough, you two!" Lily snapped herself and the three boys back to attention. "I will not suffer an inquisition at the hands of the biggest revolving door of dating every available to Hogwarts." Deliberate look at Sirius who was torn between looking mortified Lily was aware of such a thing or proud she'd bothered to notice.

"OR the Gryffindor Snogging Champion of 1976 according to Arabella Figg!" Lily turned toward Remus, who nearly fell out of his chair in surprise.

Head held high, Lily made her way out of the common room before throwing a smile toward James.

"Incidentally, I think Arabella and I will need to compare notes since I'd like to cast my nomination in before voting comes to a close." Lily tossed her hair as she exited through the portrait. "I'll see you in the Great Hall."

James turned to his two friends and burst out laughing at them, as they seemed to still be recovering from Lily's outburst.

"She practically called me a man-slut!" Sirius declared indignantly before he thoughtfully wondered if he sort of was. "Well, I'm something of a snogging slut but that's still a bit rude."

"Oh, but harassing people about their personal lives is always proper forum?" James countered, before noticing how dazed Remus appeared. He wasn't sure if this was because of what Arabella had said to Lily or if it was for what she had said about his snogging technique.

"Great, onto my fabulous new life as the insatiable Snog King of the House." Remus commented, although didn't appear to be outrageously distraught by this. Still, he glared at James. "I blame you for all this. Lily was as sweet as honey before she became tainted under your perverse desires."

"There's nothing perverse about my desires!" James cried in disbelief. Sirius cast a thoughtful glance James's way.

"Come now, Remus." Sirius reasoned with a smirk that offered James no comfort. "I think Lily lashed out because I was onto something with my questioning. She called my name, didn't she?"

James gave out a humorless laugh, near mad from both their relentlessness as he pulled out his wand and eyed his friends with a manic glint. Remus and Sirius smiled, evidently satisfied with the reaction they had earned.

15 seconds later

Peter nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the door to the bedroom slam. Spinning around to see what was all the ruckus, Peter saw Remus and Sirius pressed against the door panting and laughing with James ranting from the other side.

" – I SWEAR I'LL BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR! FACE ME LIKE THE DOGS THE LOT OF YOU ARE! – "

"Oh now what?" Peter groaned. He wanted to go get breakfast and he couldn't very well do that with Sirius and Remus barricading the door and James shouting murderous threats on the other side.

The manic thumping gave way to the sound of Remus and Sirius laughing at the annoyance of their friend. The two boys glanced at Peter, before turning to one another.

"Is it just me or is Prongs a lot more fun now that he's got a steady girl?" Sirius inquired, causing himself and Remus to burst out laughing again.

"Same goes for Lily." Remus nodded in approval. "Girl can hold her own and tore into us with flare!"

Peter sighed and started rummaging through his nightstand draws to find something to tide him over until lunch.

James inevitably calmed himself after being to thoroughly riled by Padfoot and Moony, which meant the four of them could head along to breakfast as Peter so desperately wanted. Willing to discuss the matter with some measure of seriousness and dignity now, James explained to his friends, for the record, that he and Lily were a stone throw from being together he just needed to come up with a brilliant way to put a seal on it.

James wasn't overtly concerned about someone overhearing their discussion since about a fifth of the school had stayed over for the holiday, but they kept their voices low over it nonetheless. As he anticipated, the other boys were of little help in spite of their best intentions. Wishing James all the luck in the world and offering to help in any way he saw fit, James sighed as he realized he was on his own again until he had an opportunity to hear from Arabella or Frank.

Entering the Great Hall as their usual foursome, the Marauders found Lily seated with the remaining members of their House eating breakfast at their reasonably vacant table, talking mostly about the Ball last night. Lily's expression lit up a bit when she saw James enter. He took the space next to her on the bench with their other friends crowded around. Arabella was the last to arrive.

"Sorry for my lateness." Arabella half-heartedly apologized. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

Perking up a bit as though his cue had been called, Sirius smiled at Remus who threw a "don't you dare" sort of look his way. It was the same pleading look James had been giving Sirius for years, which caused Padfoot ask himself what possessed Moony to not know he hadn't already developed an immunity to it by now. Sirius decided to go with his bad self.

It was almost as second nature as breathing by this point.

"That would probably have something to do with Sir Snog-a-lot here, hm?" Sirius guessed. Arabelle shifted her catlike eyes between Lily and Remus.

"And which of you has been keeping the rest of the House updated on the minutes of my life?" Arabella demanded.

Lily started to blush and glanced at the table, immediately regretting her earlier outburst. Sucking in a deep breath she meet Arabella's gaze.

"Umm, well I may have mentioned - " Lily started apologizing before Arabella seemed unimpressed and simply shrugged.

"Good. Means I'm spared the effort of making a memo." Arabella folded a napkin over her lap.

The Gryffindors erupted into laughter.

All throughout breakfast, Snape had been stealing glances across the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table as they cackled like the lot of morons they were. He was on something of a rotation for whom he was glaring at.

Sometimes it was at Sirius Black, the drooling imbecile he was. His arrogance and grating immaturity was the embodiment of everything wrong and romanticized amongst the Gryffindors. Convinced that Black would be a squib if not for ridding on the coattails of Potter, Lupin, or possibly Pettigrew, Snape had little expectations of the future Black would amount for himself with his "if at first you don't succeed, lower your standards" philosophy in life.

While his rule breaking antics and half-cocked attitude might make him a cheeky classmate within Hogwarts walls, such flippant conduct practically assured Snape that Black would inevitably end up in Azkaban once he reached the real world.

Sometimes it was James Potter. While Snape lacked the unadulterated hatred he felt for Black, his sheer loathing of Potter contained no less passion. True, Potter had the restraint and poise in their confrontations that Black evidently felt he could do without, but he was no less egotistical or juvenal as his lesser-half. Potter was talented, but was content to have little to show for it. He was a capable student but preferred to disrupt class more than contribute to it. And Snape didn't much feel like getting into his taste in company (barring Lily Evans) since he wanted to not spend his ENTIRE day criticizing Potter. Snape remembered how Lily had compared himself with Potter and thought she was off in her judgment.

If anything, Snape regarded James Potter was a failed version of Lily.

Sometimes it was Lily Evans. He would relive the last conversation they shared, and recalled all the ones before it. Rationalizing he was more disappointed with Lily than angry (as he had always assumed better of her) he would occasionally catch himself hoping Potter would betray and hurt her as he knew the prat undoubtedly would just so she would have to admit that he had been right all along.

Snape made no effort to correct this kind of thinking.

Although he had assumed he was being discrete in his spying, a comment from Mary Tudor jarred that thinking.

"Don't stare to hard, Severus." Lestrange's girlfriend cautioned with a smile playing over her lips. "You'll end up burning a hole in the back of the little Mudblood's pretty head."

"Don't be crass, Tudor." Snape stated disapprovingly.

Apart from most others in his House, Snape didn't have any particular prejudice against the Muggle Born, though he found their ignorance of most things mundane and customary in the wizarding world to be more than tedious at times. Snape believed in talent, in diligence, in ambition. Those willing to rise above themselves, Wizard or Muggle born, earned his respect. Those who floated along, content with whatever mediocrity directed their course in life (not unlike Potter and his rabble), they reserved his animosity.

Mary Tudor seemed to pucker slightly at Snape's correction in her behavior. Lestrange put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, showing everyone at the table that they were still the perfect House couple.

Snape had long since decided that Mary Tudor' dark beauty was most stunning when she was most cruel. The girl wore her sneers well. Her and Aaron Lestrange were what were known as the "refined" brand of Slytherin, with grooming and manners polished not unlike cold silver. The variation of this were the "dark" Slytherins who were often compared to various dark creatures or living nightmares by those outside Houses.

Snape maintained no delusions of where he was classified amongst his peers, but such aesthetic differences meant little within Slytherin. Not when a cunning mind and sharp tongue were the essential traits of survival within.

"He's got a point, Mary." Lestrange chided, but his expression suggested he didn't really care. "Still, I don't see why our Prefect has become suddenly…politically correct on us." The other Slytherins eyes appeared to scrutinize Snape, waiting for his response.

At times, Snape was convinced his House would be better represented with a hyena as a mascot rather than a serpent since it was a more apt description of its members typically. A collection of sneering, cackling pack that roved around, preying on the weak and turning on one another when nothing better stumbled across their path. It was an old game of cunning and wit with rules that were only implied.

Backhanded comments were the key. While none were immune to the criticism of their peers within Slytherin, the trick was to make sure you weren't the subject of it for too long. Otherwise, one would soon find themselves a more regular target. Although everyone was more than aware that "casual observations", "friendly suggestions", and "extended compliments" were all just veiled insults; the point was not what you said but how you said it. Those who could run another into the ground while making it sound as subtle and aristocratic as possible were considered masters of the game. Such tact was not stressed when dealing with those outside of the House, but was necessary for survival when dealing with other Slytherin.

Snape had a lifetime before Hogwarts to prepare for such a game. One doesn't survive as the only child of amoral and demanding parents without such finesse.

"I never pegged you as one so interested in a game of semantics, Aaron." Snape replied coolly. "Especially with your vernacular skills being what they are."

Aaron Lestrange's eyes narrowed on Snape as a few Slytherins shared a snicker at his expense.

"I'd also recommend you polish your proficiency with innuendo." Snape added for measure with a small smirk. "I imagine even the Hufflepuffs would have been able to grasp what you were implying with all the subtlety of a rampaging dragon."

More snickering followed along with a deviated conversation centered around insulting the Hufflepuffs. Mary Tudor forced a smile along with her boyfriend, but there was a hint of contempt in both their eyes. Snape hoped they would drop this line of questioning now, but what was a Slytherin without pride?

"As fun as it is to watch you parry the point, Snape. I think we're all a still curious if you've forgotten the quality of blood Evans lovely flesh hides." Tudor interjected with a vicious smile. "Do I need to go over there and show you what color turns up?"

Snape didn't like Lestrange's woman threatening Lily, regardless of his current displeasure with the Gryffindor; however, the most important implied rule of this game was never reveal a vulnerability if it was avoidable.

"If I didn't suspect better of a pureblood, I'd almost suggest you were…jealous of Evans?" Snape raised an eyebrow. A distorted expression overtook Tudor as she glared at Snape.

"What would I POSSIBLY have to be jealous of her for?" Tudor challenged. Lestrange's grip seemed to tense around her as though he expected her to physically attack Snape at any moment.

"The fact that she has managed to acquire every last bit of prestige you desire without the slightest amount of strain. Stunning by any House's standards, top girl in all her classes, respect of the faculty, admiration of her peers, and one of the only intelligent sources of conversation in all of Hogwarts. Come to think of it, I believe it would be a shorter list if you asked me what advantages you DID have upon her." Snape listed apathetically as though it were a potions list. This was about insulting Tudor not complimenting Lily.

Mary Tudor was scowling (and therefore beautiful at the moment) with the most venomous of stares directed at Snape. In an instant, all the rage seemed to seep out of her as she threw a frosty smile right at him.

"If what you say is true, Potter sure is a lucky one, isn't he?" Tudor inquired sadistically. It was happened to be one of those comments that were best executed from the mouth of a woman. Snape let nothing betray him externally.

"If he's not thick enough to ruin it, I suppose."

Tudor had won.

Damn it.

All the Slytherin's exchanged knowing smiles with one another, Tudor, Lestrange, and Snape included. Everyone was well aware of the score.

It just wouldn't be the Slytherin way to mention it.

At some point during the day the six Gryffindors, someone had the brilliant idea for a snowball fight in the courtyard. To make things interesting, the group divided into three teams that pelted clumps of snow at one another. As the six were pairing off, Sirius made a stipulation of.

"No partnering with someone that might lead to snogging! Because if Peter and I aren't getting anything presently, neither are you!"

"Yeah, all business now, mates!" Peter crowed in as he started packing snow. "I'm with Sirius!" Peter figured Padfoot might be less inclined to shove handfuls of snow down the collar of his shirt if he needed him to watch his back.

Shrugging and laughing, Arabella ran over to James while Lily paired with Remus.

"Can you throw well?" Remus asked Lily as she approached.

"Not really." Lily admitted.

"Neither can I." Remus had a quirky smile as he appreciated how screwed the two of them were.

Lily removed her wand and gave a quick flick of the wrist towards herself and Remus.

"Scopus!" She chanted twice

Both her and Remus now had glowing bull's-eye markers on their chests. Remus burst out laughing as he threw an arm around Lily and led her to their respective corner.

"Good to know you have a sense of humor about being relentlessly pummeled." Remus complimented.

"I'd imagine James and Arabella will go easy on us." Lily grinned

"You WOULD imagine that wouldn't you." Remus grinned back.

Peter and Sirius

Ducking behind a column and section of rail, Sirius and Peter traded off taking shots at their four friends/opponents, holding up a conversation in between the praise and laughter prompted from their snowball fight. Peter happened to be rather good at braining their Housemates with snow.

"Good arm there, Wormtail!" Sirius nodded approvingly. "Best hang onto it."

"I intend to!" Peter assured.

"So do you want know what I did last night?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"I already know. You tormented Filch." Peter nodded. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Besides that." Sirius pushed the conversation along. Peter's eyes drifted about as though the answer would appear for him shortly. James hit him in the shoulder as punishment for his lack of attentiveness. Returning fire, Peter glanced at Sirius.

"I don't know, shagging?" Peter shrugged. Sirius made a disgruntled knows, causing Peter to get a bit cross. "Well, bloody hell then, Black! If you don't like my guesses then don't ask questions I'd have no way of knowing the right answer too!"

"Okay fine." Sirius jerked his head to the side to avoid being clipped by Remus. "I was coming up with a plot to get at Snape." He didn't notice the shot from Arabella.

"I thought you were dodging Filch all night?" Peter stated.

Sirius finished sputtering snow out of his mouth before looking at Peter.

"Oh come now." Sirius groaned. "I need a quarter of my wits about me to do that!"

"You apparently need a hell of a lot more to have a proper snowball fight." Peter grinned.

"Yeah well, I'm a little preoccupied with coming up with my grandest scheme as of yet." Sirius retorted.

Sirius checked to see if Peter was impressed or, at the least, curious yet and found his fair hair friend giving him a most perturbed look.

"We're all going to end up in Azkaban, aren't we?" Peter moaned. A failed attack of Lily's smashed harmlessly on the ground next to Peter.

"Well I imagine some of us will get away." Sirius smirked at his friend's hesitation. "No, I'm only planning on wiping the scowl off that overgrown bat's face to make room for a bit of fear."

"You figured out something to scare Snape?" Peter said skeptically. "Always struck me as a little too stoic or whatnot to be bothered with things like emotions."

"Oh I figured out something alright." Sirius promised darkly. "But I need your help."

"Well, of course we'll help you." Peter shook his head obviously toward their friends who were currently working trying to hit them with fistfuls of snow. "I been saying we need more bonding experiences in this lot."

"No, Moony and Prongs can't know!" Sirius insisted, his eyes burning into Peter's. "Remus would find it all too juvenal to ever consent and with James and Lily being bedfellows, who knows how much of our mail he might slip to her on this; what with her being a Prefect and sort of chummy with Snape. I can't trust them to follow through. You're the only one I can count on in this, Wormtail."

Peter felt himself smile at this. Sirius was working with him over Remus or James. Sometimes he felt like such a tag along in the group who just followed orders once the rest of them worked them out, but Sirius needed HIM specifically. Eager to be with Sirius at the drawing board of his most daring prank, Peter was ready to remind himself why he was a Marauder with the rest of them.

"What do you need my help with?" Peter pressed. Pleased with the enthusiasm Peter was showing, Sirius playfully slugged Peter in his arm as he flashed a sly grin.

"I need you to deliver a little something to our good friend down in the dungeons and make sure he finds it." Sirius replied vaguely as and Peter resumed their fight with their friends.

Remus and Lily

Being the smart, sensible people they were, Remus and Lily quickly realized they had little hope of performing well in their snowball firefight and resigned themselves to safely cowering by a bench and throwing out the occasional lump of snow for show. Mostly they just caught up.

"Sorry about this morning." Remus extended. "We like to poke fun at one another and it's a little hard to get back to a mentality resembling civil once we're pretty far in."

"Me too." Lily smiled. "I shouldn't have bitten both of your heads off like that. I should apologize to Sirius too."

"Don't bother, he has the attention span of a riled up Cornish pixie." Remus shook his head. "Besides, we'd like to think one of the major reasons James is so mad over you is the fact you can take care of yourself."

"Really, mad you think?" Lily blushed a bit at hearing this from one of James's closer friends.

"Bloody hell, you haven't had to be around him these past few months." Remus groaned as he recalled the events. He checked over his shoulder as though expecting James to be listening. "I suppose there's no harm in saying this now, but James if head over heels for you, Lily. In the six years I've had the honor of being his friends, I've never seen James more committed to anything than his feelings for you."

Remus then remembered the years James and the others had devoted into becoming animages on his behalf and decided to revise his statement a bit.

"There's nothing more important to James than those he cares about." Remus honestly believed. "And I reckon he might care about you most of all."

"I'm really partial to him too, Remus." Lily admitted with a small smile. "I'm glad we've managed to rise above so many things over the past few months."

Changing gears, Lily turned to Remus.

"So you and Arabella, hm?" Lily grinned in a way that slightly resembled one of Sirius's. Remus laughed awkwardly.

"Something like that." That was more than any of the Marauders had gotten out of Remus all day.

What is it about talking with a girl that makes it so much easier? Remus wondered to himself as he tried to decide how to best indulge Lily's expectant look.

James and Arabella

"Yeah, me and Remus." Arabella replied vaguely, having the same conversation with James on the other side of the courtyard.

"Well he won't tell me anything." James tried to sound hurt.

"Maybe there's a reason for that!" Arabella replied, onto his game.

Giving up on Lily and Remus for the most part (and not really having the heart to attack them to begin with) the snowball fight was mostly Sirius and Peter against Arabella and James. Arabella had a good pitching arm much to James's impressed surprise. He was particularly fond of when she hit Sirius square in the jaw.

"Come on, give me something!" James pressed playfully. "I want to make sure he's treating you right is all."

"Oh yes." Arabella agreed with a suggestive smile. "You have NO worries there. Still, too soon to report much of anything. We didn't discuss anything formal or the like last night and we haven't had a moment alone yet today."

"Ah." Was the most James could say to that. He didn't know what he had expected to hear but he guessed by the slight amount of disappointment he hoped it would be more.

"Nevermind me, what's new with you and Lily?" Arabella beamed.

"Me and Lily are…well, now me and Lily I guess." James shrugged. Arabella squealed a bit.

"Really?" Arabella demanded.

"Um, kind of." James said and noticed a threatening look cross Arabella's face.

"James Potter if you're toying with Lily…" Arabella hissed.

"No!" James inched back a bit as he was genuinely afraid of Arabella at the moment, but a snowball cracked into the side of his head (Sirius's handiwork judging by the mad laugh), forced him back to the place he had held as he dusted snow from his hair. Arabella waited for some winning explanation on his part.

"We're unofficially together at the moment." James told her. "I was hoping to talk to you about that. I want to ask her to be my steady in some proper, romantic if I can help it, sort of way and need any insights you might have since you know Lily."

"Oh." Arabella could live with that. "Let me see."

Deep in thought, Arabella whipped her arm out and surprised shriek from Peter followed by Sirius's sadistic laughter let her and James know she made the mark. Mulling it for an additional few seconds, Arabella smiled at James.

"She's the sentimental sort, Lily is." Arabella began. "Doesn't need to be flashy or extravagant, just has to come from the heart. Don't feed her any cliché lines or quote her a sonnet or something. Just be yourself. Makes sense since you're the one she's smitten with."

"Smitten?" James felt himself grin.

"She's one smitten kitten." Arabella nodded.

"Okay, you guys!" Sirius's voice called out through the air. "Peter's convinced he was blinded with that last shot. I recommended he just open his eyes, but he'll be having none of that. So, this being said about Peter's pathetic constitution against water, I think we should call it quits for now."

Arabella moved to stand up but James quickly forced her back down.

"Hold on a minute." James advised.

The air was cut with the sound of whipping snow followed by Lily and Remus crying out with more sadistic laughter as a finale.

"NOW we can go." James nodded as he and his other snow-clad friends went inside.

James was delighted to find Wifflesnip pecking at his bedroom window earlier that evening with a post from Frank. The owl hooted expectantly for its bounty of bacon, but James hadn't anticipated to see him until tomorrow at the earliest and evidently underestimated the powerful incentive bacon had on his pet.

"Hold on, Wif." James stroked the bird. "I'll run and get you a fresh bunch right now."

It took a little coaxing to get Wifflesnip to give up the letter without the bacon in sight. Wif was a smart pet to be suspicious of him, James decided overall, but did convince him that he would be back in a few minutes with his reward.

Reading the letter as he made his way to the kitchen and hoped the House Elves would be all to happy to help him out, James wondered what advice Frank had to offer.

Dear James:

Good luck!

Seriously,

Frank Longbottom

"Oh that git!" James growled as he crumpled up the letter and spent the rest of his trip to the kitchen wondering how such a jerk with a cruel sense of humor EVER got himself married.

James just prayed the things Arabella told him would be enough to help him.

Snape spent fewer and fewer occasions in the Slytherin common room ever since he made Prefect. He recognized a part of this was on account of the superior attitude that came with his position as he thought it was inappropriate to be too friendly with those he was expected to govern. Of course, he had never been really friendly with them to begin with so this decision was working out rather well for him presently.

Still without Lily's occasional company to count on, Snape found that even sardonic banter and sporadic threats were better than absolute silence.

After having his fill of everyone's backbiting for one evening, Snape became resolve to take his leave of the other Slytherin for the evening and maybe brew some potions to pass the hours. He considered trying something from the book Lily had given him but felt slightly uncomfortable with enjoying her present but not her presence at the moment.

Snape knew he could continue to avoid her for the remainder of the break but once school started up, she would be there with him for a third of his classes, at Prefect meetings, etc. Aside from the rare few he could enjoy civility with, Snape only knew two other ways to deal with others: Ignoring them or antagonizing them. He very much doubted Lily would tolerate him pretending she didn't exist and he had no desire to start behaving maliciously towards her.

As he rationalized at breakfast, Snape was disappointed in Lily not angry.

He was sure she would misevaluate the situation and assume he felt hurt or rejected by her improper behavior at the Ball, but that wasn't the case. If Snape felt any of those things, it wasn't because of some presumptuous interpretation of their relationship, but mostly on account of him feeling like she had deliberately cast him aside to placate the blow he had landed on poor Potter's indomitable ego. Snape smiled slightly as he recalled the forlorn expression on Potter's face the evening before, all in reaction to Lily going to the Ball with his rival instead his wonderful self.

Snape questioned if that was why he wanted Lily to accompany him. For the memory of that expression of Potter's?

Reluctant to think he had so deliberately exploited Lily just to get a low-blow on Potter, Snape believed that was just a merry side-effect to a myriad of other reasons. After all, he had given Mary Scot and a portion of his House more than enough motive for his escorting Lily and they were all sincere in Snape's mind. A far more enjoyable presence than that obnoxious Arabella Figg who forced what fleeting amount of social pause Snape held to refrain from using apply every last misogynistic remark he could manufacture to her.

Infuriating girl and her flagrant disposition.

Snape was suddenly reminded of Sirius Black.

He made a face for having to think of both him and Figg at once. Snape marveled at how the same suite of appalling character flaws could be possessed by to separate people who were, as far as he knew of no blood relations. Convinced that it would still have to be inbreeding on some level if Black and Figg ever bothered to procreate (possibly just to annoy him), Snape repressed a shudder at what their spawn would be like. That sickening thought was replaced with another and, in his mind, more disturbing one.

What if Potter and Lily got married?

Snape refused to entertain such a preposterous thought a second longer. While he had little doubt they were something of an item at this point, Snape was sure this was some infatuation on Lily's part. An itch to scratch. Once the novelty of James Potter had finally worn through her last nerve, Lily would cease to sully herself with his presence. A person like Lily Evans just didn't end up with a prat like Potter. She was far too sensible and independent to take the back seat to his traveling sideshow.

Wasn't she?

Snape had heard more than one sob story about decent people ending up with a wretched spouse because they couldn't see the degenerate for what they were. Woefully blinded by some charming window dressing or honeyed tongue.

Snape thought of Voldemort suddenly.

Snape didn't want thoughts of Lily and the Dark Lord to be so closely entwined and resumed his previous line of thinking.

What if Lily never saw behind Potter's clever mask? She probably wouldn't if the only company she kept was Potter's simpering crew, that cretin Figg, or any of the other hundreds of students who saw James as some whimsical, good-natured bloke rather than the cautionary tale his life was shaping up to be.

Snape just found his incentive to make peace with Lily Evans.

Walking the corridor leading to his room, Snape observed a rat scurrying along with a section of parchment in grasp. Rats we by no means uncommon in the dongeous of the school (though they typically had the good sense to avoid the Slytherin common room and vicious minds within) but Snape was curious as to what it was carrying. Wondering if someone had sent their pet rodent to ransack his room, Snape removed his wand.

"Accio parchment." Snape summoned the slip of paper to him and watched the rat scurry off in fright. Undaunted, Snape knew if the paper was his, as he suspected, he could devise some means to track the pet's owner down and hex them until his throat went sore. Examining the torn parchment, Snape's eyes narrowed as he felt a grin cross his face.

meeting at the Whomping Willow again at midnight, New Year Eve. R.L. will be expecting us for the usual business. Be sure to hit the knot this time! I almost lost an eye from that damn tree because you're a git!

S.B.

R.L., S.B., the Whomping Willow, Snape knew who had authored to note. Guessing that thoughtless Pettigrew must have dropped it somewhere for the rat to find for its nest or Potter misplaced it on one of his late night raids on Slytherin, Snape was practically exuberant over the notion of exposing whatever secret Potter and his cohorts had been eluding from him, taunting him with all these years.

Whatever it was Snape hoped it would be enough to get the lot of them expelled.

He doubted even a sympathetic creature such as Lily could overlook Potter's faults if his criminal transgressions were exposed and he was seen by the entire wizarding community for the failed wizard Snape always knew he and his friends would amount to. Smugly, Snape made his way into his room to more thoroughly device his impending triumph.

Snape paid no heed to a solitary rat watching him intently from a shadow before scampering off.

Scopus Target


	17. Moths to a Flame

Moths to a Flame

By: Oy! Angelina

James returned to the Gryffindor common room with a package of bacon and a more than cross look on his face. Muttering foul things about a certain member of the Longbottom family, James fed Wifflesnip his reward until a knock came from the bedroom door. James found Bill Weasley, a 2nd Year Gryffindor on the other side.

"Prefect wants to see you." Bill reported with a smile that suggested he had more to say James than the message.

"And?" James threw the same lopsided grin back at the redheaded boy.

"Umm…" Bill's ears went a little pink, which James assumed was his way of blushing. "Yer the Quidditch Captain right?"

"Yeah." James nodded.

"I was wondering if, well, there was gonna be a space open on the team next season?" Bill inquired, as he appeared to be examining the tops of his shoes while he spoke.

James smiled and ruffled his hair as he made his way through the boys' dormitories and motioned for Bill to follow him.

"We've got a couple 7th Years on the team right now, so I'll need to be replacing them all right." James confirmed. Bill grinned hopefully at him. "I can't promise anything until I see you on the pitch, Bill, but I WILL remember that you came to see me about it first out of everyone else. Talk to me once school's back in session and I'll see about letting you get a little practice in with the team."

Bill was thrilled by this and raced off ecstatically. James was suddenly reminded of how he practically stalked his predecessor about the dorm when he went out for Quidditch. He imagined he was probably more than a little obnoxious toward Harper, but she took it as a sign he was committed and that was probably why he won out the vacant spot over Sirius.

On the subject of his best friend, James wasn't above nepotism when it came to the other vacancies on the team. James would have probably put him on the team when Harper graduated but she had played Seeker for Gryffindor and what Sirius possessed in reckless, relentless pursuit was seriously undermined by his utter lack of attentiveness and patience. James recognized that Sirius was best served as a Quidditch Chaser and that's where James planned to put him come 7th Year (provided he was still a fair player). James was mulling Quidditch now so much he had completely forgotten why he had ventured to the boys' dormitory entrance until he caught sight of Lily.

Overcome with a dazed and euphoric sensation, James could watch the pitch go up in flames and ask Lily to dance on the ashes with him.

"Hey, what's going on Lily?" James might have come across as casual if not for the manic grin on his face.

Lily smiled fondly at how miserable James was at playing it cool. She wondered if the rest of Hogwarts was easily impressed or if James was just pathetic when it came to acting suave with her. Still, he was not without his charm.

"I've come seeking your opinion." Lily informed.

"Please tell me this is some code for snogging." James grinned as Lily rolled her eyes before glancing to see if anyone heard.

"Get your mind out of the dungeons." Lily chuckled. "Really James, is that all you think about?"

James shrugged.

"Apparently more so than Quidditch." He replied a little too honestly for his chivalrous Gryffindor's liking. Lily just shook her head.

"I was curious if we should do something for New Years." Lily got back on subject.

"By 'we' do you mean Gryffindor or us?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was actually referring to the House." Lily clarified and watched James's expression drop a bit. "But if you had something in mind – "

"No." James admitted a little glumly, until it struck him he COULD pull something together.

After all, he was still trying to think of the best means to formalize himself and Lily. James wasn't fond of holding off on doing it for almost a week, but this would give him the chance to organize something really clever to woo her. If he remained attentive to Lily's whims and managed not to get carried away like some randy prat, James could keep their relationship implied for the moment without degrading Lily in anyway.

"Yeah, I think a party would be a good idea." James was more enthusiastic this time about. "It could be memorable and all with a bit of effort."

"You'll help me out then?" Lily confirmed. "Organizing, chaperoning, the like?"

"Sure!" James agreed somewhat. He would be fine with the organizing end of things since food and explosives passed through his heads all too readily in general, but he'd feel very foolish if he suddenly started to correct the deviant behavior of his peers rather than egg them along.

"Alright then!" Lily grinned happily. "We'll work out the details over the next few days."

"Did you want to, um, hang out a bit now?" James requested in an awkward but hopeful tone.

"What did you have in mind?" Lily asked.

"We could go for a walk?" James offered. It was Lily's turn to seem a little disappointed. She was sort of whishing James would go back to his suggestion of snogging.

"I suppose." Lily spoke thoughtfully. "But it's just past nine and you know students aren't permitted to wonder about the school after ten."

"They can if they're not seen." James smiled coyly as Lily got his implication.

"James, I don't know." Lily's tone was hesitant but tempted. "We'd be breaking rules and I'd be a hypocrite to say the least. That and no one will be here to keep an eye on things."

"Ask Remus to be the honorary Prefect for a bit. He's dependable." James urged. "Come on, we'll be back before its even time for lights out, I promise."

Lily bit her lip as she considered this.

"Alright." Lily relented with a guilty but excited expression. "I'll talk with Remus and meet you back in my room."

"Okay." James nodded as he watched her head towards the common room. He went to retrieve his cloak and the Marauder's Map, though he knew the ins and outs of Hogwarts practically by heart, James didn't want to take any chances of getting cornered by Filch with Lily in tow if his memory happened to lapse. James decided he might have kissed Lily after their exchange but wasn't sure how she'd respond to that.

James REALLY needed to make things official with Lily.

Lily found Remus in the common room comfortably with a cup of tea and Encyclopedia of Dark Creatures for company. Most of the Gryffindors were hanging in their rooms or out and about in the castle until they absolutely had to return to the tower. Remus didn't seem to mind the solicitude but he wasn't opposed to Lily's company either.

Typically Remus.

"I always catch you with some literature related to the Dark Arts whenever you have a spare moment." Lily observed Remus's selection as she peered over the side of the couch at him. "Anything you care to confess?" He smiled innocently back at her.

"Nothing more scandalous than indulging a morbid curiosity, Madam Prefect." Remus assured.

It was no secret that Remus Lupin was fond of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class and had a natural aptitude for most things concerning it. Lily had lost count of the number of in-class debates he and Snape (who undoubtedly would excel in his Dark Arts studies if he wasn't so concentrated on his Potions work) would battle over when it came to their grasp of the material. Lily didn't really suspect Remus would do anything foul with the knowledge he had considering it was mostly a wealth of inane facts that were hard to do anything truly wicked with. Besides, Remus was far too good-natured to maliciously harm anyone.

That's why she approved so much of James's recommendation to have him act as her proxy for a bit.

"Could I ask a favor of you?" Lily inquired. Remus closed his book (thumb marking the place) as a show of full attention.

"Does it require me leaving this couch?" Remus teased, but Lily doubted he'd much mind.

"Unless it happens to catch fire, probably not." Lily smiled. "You can pretty much carry on as you were, I just need you to keep an eye and ear open in case something dire pops up. James is taking me for a tour of the lesser-known routes of Hogwarts and I need someone to impersonate my voice of reason while I'm off being a scoundrel with one of the most deviant minds to prowl these halls."

"Can do." Remus nodded. "Have fun. Don't do anything James can't tell us about later."

"Thanks Remus." Lily patted him on the arm as she headed to her room to meet up with James.

"I wonder if my newfound power will corrupt me?" Remus commented to himself.

If he attempted to explore this option, he did so through resuming his book where he had left off. After five minutes, Remus got the distinct impression of an unseen presence in the room. Tracking it a bit, he kicked off his shoes toward where he guessed to be the source and heard more than the thump of the footwear clatter on the ground.

"Prat!" Remus heard James's low hiss from thin air.

"Just keeping you on your toes." Remus reported with a grin as he turned back to his book. A phantom force cracked him upside the head playfully causing Remus to chuckle.

"Funny book?" Arabella questioned as she bounded down the stairs. Remus showed her the cover, causing her to give him a quizzical look.

"Okay, now I'm just worried about you." She stated as she hoped over the back of the couch landing on his outstretched legs. "I'm not disturbing you am I?"

"Little late for pleasantries isn't it?" Remus grunted with a laugh as he pulled his now sore limbs closer to him.

"I meant your reading, you big baby." Arabella smirked as she kissed her hand and patted his legs sarcastically.

"Who has the time, what with my busy social calendar?" Remus gave up on the book and set it to the side.

"Good." Arabella nodded. "I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk in private a bit."

"Sure thing, love." Remus pretended to stretch as he looked deliberately over towards the direction Lily and James had been heading and smiled. "Of course, if the room has ears I can always fetch some firecrackers and paint."

Remus paused expectantly. After he heard the portrait door open and shut, Remus turned his attentions back on Arabella. She was presently staring at him with a baffled expression on account of his odd behavior. Picking up his cup of tea, Arabella gave it a sniff while eyeing Remus. He began drumming his fingers against the back of the couch.

"It's TEA." Remus assured dryly.

"You're pretty indignant for someone who's been prattling like a lush since I got here." Arabella mused as she placed the cup down. Remus studied her with an amused expression.

"NOW, what did you want to talk about, Arabella?" Remus pressed attentively.

"Gossip, the usual." She sighed as she relaxed into the couch. Remus guessed she probably didn't have much of a point for visiting him or she wasn't going to get around to it straight off.

"About?" Remus moved things along.

"Lily and James." She smiled.

"Bit boring with those two these days." Remus shrugged. "Ever since they cast aside their angst in favor of an emotionally fulfilling relationship, there's not a whole lot to discuss."

"Yeah, but they're not TECHNICALLY together yet." Arabella observed.

"One last, desperate, gambit for James then?" Remus teased.

"Nope." Arabella simply corrected with a shake of her head. "I was just curious to see if James made it official yet."

"Not to my knowledge." Remus informed. "My best guess lies with James will over think the situation until both he and Lily are so frustrated that they'll be right back at each other's throats."

"And you feel no need to step in?" Arabella grinned.

"First rule of friendship is never blow another mate's make up sex." Remus divulged sarcastically, but Arabella's eyes lit up anyway.

"You don't think-?" Arabella started.

"No, I don't." Remus ended her speculation. "He's too flustered, she's too proper, and it's TOO SOON for our fevered minds to be mulling over this."

Remus let out a preemptive exasperated sigh for the fiasco that scene would be. He hoped, it they were so inclined, James and Lily would have the good manners to wait until they were married so it could all be left to speculation and he wouldn't have to listen to Sirius and Arabella go off and running on the situation.

"So then what shall we do in place of living vivaciously through our friends' romantic lives?" Arabella sighed, at a loss for conversation.

"Start up one of our own?" Remus suggested with a quirky smile. Arabella looked over to him, as though to check if he was joking.

"Meaning?" Arabella prompted.

"Meaning…" Remus leaned in closer to Arabella and took her hand as he formulated his improvisation of dialogue. "…Although I'm the introverted type, once I figure out what I'm feeling I don't like to let things just lie around to fester if I can make something better of it. Particularly if I think it's something that might be mutual."

"Basically, you don't want to be a git like James Potter?" Arabella surmised.

"Not to speak ill of a friend." Remus confirmed.

"You don't strike me as shy." Arabella noted.

"It's more reclusive than anything. I'm just grown accustom to being on my own." Remus tried to decide if Arabella was ducking the question because he had misread her, she was being coy, or if she was just that scatterbrained.

"Evidently not if you're snogging with girls and asking – what are you asking Remus?" Arabella demanded with a smile.

"Nothing written in stone." Remus specified as his eyes fell on Arabella's hand. He made circle like motions across the top of the smooth skin with his thumb. "Just to see where things go, if there's anything beneath the surface of last night and whatever led up to it. I suppose I'm asking for a chance."

Arabella saw now how Remus Lupin could be shy. Pulling his hand over to her, she kissed him along the knuckles and smiled.

"Not threatened by my prior crush on your friend?" Arabella investigated.

"Should I be?" Remus met her clear eyes with his darker set ones.

"No." Arabella breathed as she leaned in to kiss him gently on the mouth, as though she were putting in the final word on an old discussion. It was a brief, confirming embrace but Remus still closed his eyes beneath the tenderness of it all.

Remus intended to say something more on the subject or, at the very least, express it by deepen the kiss; however, Sirius and Peter nearly taking the Fat Lady Portrait off the hinges (much to her screeching protest) as they bounded into the common room somewhat detoured his plan. He and Arabella jumped back a bit and waited for the barrage of questions, comments, or critiques either would willingly provide but the two didn't even seem to notice them as they raced up the stairs laughing about some joke they were oblivious so. The echo of the boys' dormitory door slamming returned Arabella and Remus to one another's attention.

"What do you reckon that was about?" Arabella wondered aloud.

"My guess would be a matching set of detentions from the sounds of it." Remus suspected, knowing his friends and their assorted laughs all too well.

"Should we investigate?" Arabella glanced over at him.

"Hell if I want to be labeled an accessory in whatever they're plotting!" Remus shook his head before pulling Arabella closer. "Besides, Lily assured me I probably wouldn't have to leave this couch barring sudden combustion. Care to help me along with that?"

"Think that line up just now, did you?" Arabella teased as she blanketed over Remus.

"Like it?" Remus grinned.

"Not particularly." Arabella admitted as she kissed him on his chin.

"Seems effective enough to me." Remus decided as he craned his neck to have his mouth meet Arabella's.

After six years spent pondering the matter, Remus found his tongue placed in Arabella's mouth to be the only sure means to keep her silent for any length of time.

"You're POSITIVE he bought the note?" Sirius demanded of Peter in the seclusion of their bedroom in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. His tone was excited but low, just to be on the safe side.

"Bloody well thought he was going to break into song and dance!" Peter beamed, before breaking into a rendition of what he assumed it would be.

"Oh, I'm going to expel those Gryffindor gits, do-dah, do-dah, Then back to scowling I can go, oh all the live-long day!"

Sirius and Peter collapsed into fits of laughter before they resumed their discussion.

"I still can't believe he thinks we're really thick enough to leave something like that lying about." Sirius smirked. "I thought I was playing long odds at best!"

"Well he probably assumes were bloody idiots." Peter rationalized as he flopped on his bed, still grinning. "I'm almost thankful he's so damn arrogant. It'll make it right funny come New Years."

"Yeah." Sirius smiled, evidently imagining how the scene would play out. Peter was made a little uncomfortable by this expression.

"Speaking of which," Peter started. "I have to admit that I don't feel particularly proud of us hiding this from James or Remus."

"We went over why they can't know." Sirius reminded in a tone to show he was bored.

"They're going to be cross with us again, though." Peter's pitch was nervous. Sirius crossed the room and joined Peter on his bed.

"Yeah, but mostly because they won't be sharing any of the credit." Sirius smiled. "Well, Moony will be due quite a bit now that I think about it."

Peter wondered if this was the only time Sirius was REALLY thinking about the wheels they had set in motion.

"Sirius, what if something goes wrong?" Peter knew he sounded scared, but he didn't care. Sirius shot him a traitorous look before his features softened.

"No, nothing will." Sirius whole-heartedly assured. "I can keep Moony under reign, done it before."

"WITH Prongs." Peter noted. This soured Sirius's expression as he went back to the traitorous look. "I'm just saying, Sirius, that we should AT LEAST bring James in on this. I'm sure he'll think it's as hilarious as the both of us."

"We. Don't. Need. James." Sirius bluntly stated before relaxing a bit. "I swear you're coming across as Snape, making me out to be James's understudy or something. I'm perfectly capable of running a prank on my own, you know."

He didn't want to get cross with Peter but he resented the implication that he was incapable of doing anything without James looking over his shoulder.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Peter insisted. "I just don't like being at odds with our friends."

"We're not." Sirius assured. "James is just busy with Lily. Let him be busy."

Peter took note of the bitter tone in Sirius's voice but said nothing on it. He didn't know if Sirius was as entirely comfortable and supportive with James and Lily being a couple now as he let on. Wondering if he was still coping with being passed over for James, Peter figured Sirius might also be feeling a little neglected by James these days and his reaction might be one of a lonely friend.

Either seemed entirely plausible since Sirius something of a competitive streak to him.

"Speaking of busy." Peter wanted to get off topic. Not a hard thing to do with Sirius as the other end of the conversation. "What about Remus and Arabella?"

"Yeah!" Sirius perked up. "They sure looked cozy in the common room."

"I thought for sure you were going to say something to rile them." Peter admitted.

"What kind of mate do you take me for? I would never go about wand-blocking Remus if he's making time with a nice girl." Sirius stipulated. "Besides, it's no fun teasing Remus if I can't get the satisfaction of that guilty 'I did something randy but I'm too repressed to mention it' expression he'll get. Remus's is SO MUCH funnier than James when it comes to ruffling his feathers over this sort of thin. I guess it's because he gets this effeminate indignant pout going that makes me feel like I'm at home with my sisters."

"You tease your sisters about their sex lives?" Peter asked in disbelief, since he knew Sirius sisters personally and had only bothered to consider one in a romantic way. Sirius bolted straight up and gave Peter a scandalous look.

"Of course I DON'T!" Sirius cried. "Because that would be ADMITTING they might have them and I don't want to have to start hexing a bunch of pervey blokes until the Aurors drag me off!" Sirius gave Peter a deliberate glare.

"Why are you looking at me?" Peter demanded shrilly.

"Because I can sense my own, depraved kind." Sirius glared.

Remus had his arm around Arabella as they cuddled on the couch in the Gryffindor commons. She had dozed off somewhere after ten, Remus started reading again about a quarter after that, and she scared the hell out of him by talking in his sleep half past the hour. Realizing he could probably pick up a conversation with Arabella even as she slept, Remus resisted the urge in favor of his book.

It was nearing eleven when James and Lily returned to the common room chuckling about something with the cloak balled under James's arm. They exchanged amused looks when they saw Arabella snoring softly across Remus.

"Comfy?" James inquired in a low voice so a not to rouse Arabella.

"I can't feel my arm." Remus whispered with a smile.

"Know what that's like." James was rewarded with an unappreciative pinch from Lily.

"Ow!" James laughed, recoiling as he rubbed his now tender flesh. "Oh, it's alright if I say that sort of thing to Remus, he's couple-people now aren't you?"

"I don't give up my blood circulation lightly." Remus agreed.

"So if Remus and I discuss things in our relationships, it's not like were bragging or anything." James explained. "We're just comparing notes, making sure we're going about things right, that sort of thing."

"And where did you hear this?' Lily demanded.

"Just made it up." James revealed. "Sounded really official when said it in that deadpan tone though didn't it?"

Lily shook her head but was amused. She glanced to Remus.

"Want me to see her off to bed?" Lily offered.

"Probably for the best." Remus nodded as he gently shook Arabella. Waking up groggily she greeted Lily and James, gave Remus a light peck on the cheek, and allowed Lily to lead her along to the Girls' dormitory. Lily gave James a goodnight kiss of their own and left the two boys alone in the common room. James took up a place in a chair while Remus rubbed the sensation back into his arm.

"Should I be getting excited for you?" James asked with a grin.

"If you're so inclined." Remus shrugged and winced at his sore muscles. "Not much happening though, mostly just playing it by ear."

"Who isn't?" James observed.

"Asked Lily to be steady yet?" Remus questioned hopefully.

"I've got a plan in motion." James assured. "Figure I'll make it all official New Years Eve, that way I'm starting off fresh with her or something poetic like that. There's going to be a party with the rest of the House though, so you guys should have an event so long as we hide Peter and Sirius's cauldrons in advance."

"James, New Years is a full moon." Remus informed.

The smile fell off James's face.

"Oh." James deflated slightly. Not wanting to make Remus self-conscious or feel like a burden, James quickly threw up a smile. "I guess I'll have to change my plans around a bit then, huh? That's alright, it was a pretty cliché idea now that I listen to myself."

Remsu smiled as James in a way that suggested he knew what he was attempting.

"I think you should hang around with Lily for New Years." Remus decided. James looked tempted by this, but still clung to a resistant position.

"No, I couldn't do that to you, Moony." James shook his head. "I've been at your side since I figured out what you were hiding."

"Exactly." Remus smiled in an understanding manner. "James, I'm not going to feel disappointed or abandoned because I know you're one of the most selfless people to walk the earth. I'll have Sirius and Peter for company, don't worry about me. Just get things straight with you and Lily. Though I'm going on record saying you should just ask her and get on with it."

James still appeared hesitant, mulling it over for a moment; he cast an uncertain glance at Remus.

"You sure you don't need me along?" James pressed.

"Positive." Remus nodded. "All I ask in return is you come up with something plausible to tell Arabella on my behalf. Peter's a rotten liar and Sirius lost his privileges after that unseemly incident 3rd Year."

"I don't know, people really believed you needed medical attention when he said you had an inflamed ovary." James smirked.

"First amongst us to hit puberty, last amongst us to figure out what the hell it was all about." Remus sighed.

"As fun as reminiscing is, you really want me to lie to Arabella?" James raised his eyebrow. "You told me only a month ago that I could tell Lily, MY girl, your secret, but you're not extending the same courtesy to the girl you fancy?"

"It's different James." Remus informed in a half-tired, half-pointed matter. "More to the effect, it's complicated."

"Well I suppose it's your choice." James shrugged, a little disappointed in Remus's backtracking.

"So did you ever mention it to Lily?" Remus inquired.

"No." James adverted his eyes, afraid that Remus would assume he was ashamed of him or something. "I just don't think Lily and I are at the "really big secrets" phase of it all yet."

"Same with me and Arabella." Remus nodded. "Of course I don't know if there's ever a right time to bring up 'I turn into a frothing beast once a month, do you want to see other people?' in a relationship. Probably be hard to remain all stoic when I'm rejected at that point in the game, hm?"

"I don't think Arabella's the type." James hoped he was right in his assessment of Arabella's character. "She might be a pretty shocked by it all or hurt you didn't tell her sooner, but I think as long as you keep levelheaded about dealing with that natural response you'll manage."

"Thanks James." Remus said sincerely. "By the by, when did you become so astute?"

"Lily's good influence, I suspect." James shrugged with a smile.

"Hang on to that one, James." Remus advised. "Not many come along that wonderful or fond of you in a single lifetime, you know."

"I do." James agreed.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Remus hoped this would persuade James to get off his ass and tell Lily how he felt about her and their relationship.

"Marvel at my good fortune!" James beamed as he put his arms behind his head and leaned back. A throw pillow tossed by Remus nearly knocked off his spectacles. James glared at Remus who was already glaring at him.

"You. Thick. Prat." Remus grumbled.

Good to his word, James had been doing what he could to help Lily organize the New Years party for the House (though vanishing without a word for long periods at a time on more than one occassion). There was only going to be about 20 Gryffindors attending since everyone else was on holiday and James explained that Remus and Sirius families were coming in Hogsmeade for the evening and they were going to join them for the holiday at the Three Broomsticks since they had missed them for Christmas with Peter tagging along.

Lily would miss the other boys and guessed Arabella would probably be a little blue without the company of Remus (or the mischievous encouragement of Sirius) but figured they'd have more than enough fun in spite of the numerous absences. It would also mean she'd have James exclusively to herself for an evening.

Not that they've been doing much of anything lately.

Lily had noticed that James had tapered off a bit in his passionate regard towards her but hadn't really found any room to question it. He was still affectionate and more than eager to spend time with her, but James didn't seem all that inclined to be overt in anything they did together.

'I probably scared him off with my behavior from Christmas.' Lily rationalized to herself one afternoon following a meeting with Professor McGonagall to make sure she was fine with the idea of a party before Lily announced it to the House.

Lily still felt slightly ashamed of herself for what she had attempted to pursue with James and was glad he took it upon himself to be the sensible one in that moment. Not wanting to think about what might have become of their relationship if they had acted on her avocation of a premature consummation of it, Lily found the somewhat stagnant state of things to be reassuring all things considering.

Still, she missed the rush of it at times.

Lily recognized that it was unreasonable for her to expect James to read her mind but was hesitant in bringing it up to him. She was convinced if she kept behaving so aggressively with James she would drive him off. Lily smiled a bit at the irony of the situation.

Wasn't this something of a gender role reversal?

Never believing she's be the forceful one in any relationship, Lily was almost amused by her disposition and wondered what it was about James that made her so willing to conduct herself in a manner that she would have previously found out of character. Lily wondered if James had found himself in a similar situation to hers.

In the corridor near the Charms classroom, Lily and Severus Snape caught sight of one another. Lily wasn't exactly sure how to respond to his presence. They hadn't spoken since the night of the ball. Lily quickly debated which would earn Snape's ire more: engaging an uninvited conversation with him or seemingly ignoring his presence?

Lily didn't have the chance to decide this as Snape spoke first when their paths crossed.

"Do you have a moment?" Snape questioned.

"Yes, of course." Lily agreed.

Snape's gaze shifted to another student making their way up the corridor. Although there was only a limited sampling of students leftover, Lily guessed he didn't wish to be overheard with whatever it was he wanted to speak to her about.

"The weather is fair." Snape informed. "Would a walk around the lake be inconvenient for you?"

Lily was struck at how cordial Snape was behaving and guessed this was his way of making amends. She smiled and felt her stance soften from its formerly tense state.

"That would be lovely." Lily nodded. "I'll just grab my cloak and meet you near the main exit."

"Certainly." Snape strode off past her. Curious as to what would become of their conversation and hoping James and the others would be too preoccupied to notice her extended absence, Lily made her way off to retrieve her winter apparel.

Meeting up, Snape and Lily crossed to the snow-covered path and started their lap around the lake. There was a long silence between them. Lily noticed that the weather was pretty timid but news of a snow storm blowing in later on would soon bring an end to it. Clearing his throat, Snape glanced to Lily out of the corner of his eye.

"About the Ball. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that I don't bare any ill feelings toward you for running off. You didn't sabotage any expectations of mine because I had none." Snape spoke almost cautiously, as though he were afraid he would betray something. Lily took this for apologetic.

"I'm relieved that I didn't hurt you, thank you for setting my mind at ease." Lily admitted. "But I have to ask, Severus. Why did you become so, well, irritated with me then?"

Snape pressed his lips thinly together. He didn't seem particularly fond of this question.

"If I could speak candidly?" Snape requested.

"Could I stop you?" Lily smiled.

"I just assumed better of you, is all." Snape replied. "James Potter isn't the type of person you should attach yourself to, interpersonally or emotionally. I think he undermines everything you've accomplished for yourself, Lily, and the only influence he could contribute is a negative one."

Lily was silent as she processed the information. Although she was upset to hear someone speak so harshly about James, let alone her relationship with him, Severus wasn't throwing her into the middle of the petty grudge between himself and James. Underneath his apathetic pretense, Severus seemed concerned.

"Don't be insulted by this, but why do you care so much?" Lily pressed. "Does it matter if I'm really seeing James? I know you two are at odds about practically everything but it's not as though I'm insisting you have to spend time with him or even be polite, however I would appreciate it."

"I'm. . .invested in you, I suppose." Snape expressed. "And I'm just not sure you see Potter for the trouble he is."

"Some could say the same about you." Lily observed.

"I never claimed to be a saint." Snape didn't bother to contradict.

"But you'll condemn James for not being one?" Lily pointed out. Snape appeared slightly irritated by this fruitless dialogue and Lily worked to keep the peace amid them. "I know you're only being concerned, but you'll have to trust me to make my own decision in life. The bad blood between you and James, I doubt I'll ever truly understand it and couldn't attempt to resolve it all, but I don't think James is out to hurt me or whatever it is you fear of him."

"And I don't think you'll ever understand what it is I fear of Potter's association with you." Snape informed adamantly. "His fate is dark and he invites little to remedy this. There are forces at work in this world, Lily, that saw fit to dispense with every last Potter who could claim blood to the line. Do you think they stopped with James or is he just one last end that needs to be tied up?"

Lily stopped walking and grabbed Snape by the arm.

"What are you saying?" Lily demanded. "You think someone is plotting to kill James?"

"I don't assume anything, Lily. I'm certain of it." Snape's voice was low enough to be a hiss across the wind.

Lily shivered from something other than the cold.

"You don't know that." Lily shook her head in disbelief, fighting the urge to shoot the messenger.

"Potter is impetuous and narrow-sighted." Snape insisted. He leaned closer to Lily. She appeared frightened by all this. Snape thought she was under reacting. It wasn't his intention to terrify her with this, but even Snape could recognize the most important lessons in life were the harsh ones as he continued on.

"You must recognize that quality in him. I can see how you could be lured into it, like a moth to a flame, Lily. Potter lives a life with more energy than most would dare. It's as though he suspects, somewhere innate to him, that he must spend the most he can with each passing breath since his future is uninsured. Potter is a candle burning at both ends: twice as brilliant than those around him. That sort of energy is easy to become bewitched by; however it is dangerous. Twice as brilliant but the first to sputter out, Lily. And you would be his moth, flying transfixed to meet your end with his?"

Lily felt a single tear roll down her cheek as she heard Snape speak. He withdrew slightly at the sight of it. She knew this hadn't been his intention, but that didn't dull how deeply his words cut into her. Wishing that he had been angry or bitter when he had spoke this to her, so she could discredit everything he said as just more of his resentment of James, Lily couldn't even maintain this illusion. Severus spoke in such a mourning tone to her, as though he pitied both her and James's futures.

"So, you think I should abandon James because of some doomsaying on your part, is that it?" Lily could restrain the quiver of challenge in her pitch. "I don't remember seeing you in Divinations ever."

"I won't ask such a thing because it would be wasted words on you." There was that solemn manner again. "All I can hope for you Lily, is when James proves to you just how quickly he's burning out, it won't sear you beyond what I've come to distinguish you as."

"Why are you saying such HORRIBLE things to me?" Lily sobbed out, desperate and frail.

"Because of all things innocently cruel, this I can make you aware of." Snape took no pride or satisfaction in this gift he bestowed. It was just what had to be said.

Lily couldn't listen to this any longer. She turned away from Snape as the tears ran free so he wouldn't see her cry as she sprinted back to the castle.

Snape watched her run off, slipping slightly over the frozen ground. He made no effort to stop her or call her back because it would mean they would only talk more and nothing good for her or rewarding for him would be accomplished with this. Snape couldn't offer ease her present anguish because he would be lying and if he persisted with the truth, the things he would say would only be harsher realities for Lily to face.

Snape saw the shadow of death the lone surviving Potter's life lingered within and most would not dare name it.

All like him saw it.

Snape remembered how Lily had said he and Potter were similar. He reluctantly was compelled to agree as he now shared something with James Potter.

They had both driven Lily off crying.

Lily mentioned nothing of her and Snape's conversation to James, but the words haunted her ears. There was a part of her that wanted to hate Snape for giving her so much fear and worry to shoulder in silence, but that was no more just than everything he had burdened her with. Though she had no intention of ignoring Snape for what he had said, Lily was perfectly comfortable with the idea of spending the few remaining days of that year avoiding him.

James sensed a change in Lily's mood. The air around her was so pensive and sad it was hard not to notice. He tried more than once to draw what was troubling her out, but she would make excuses for her melancholy state and change the subject. Unable to resign himself to helplessly watching Lily go about depressed, James devoted all his spare energy to trying and cheer her up.

This only seemed to sadden her more.

Sirius blamed Snape.

Sirius always blamed Snape (or Slytherins in general) for things like this, but James had to wonder if his friend might have finally pulled off a shot in the dark. James could name few people who could get to Lily upset like this and even less who would be sadistic enough to do it.

But James had no proof so he was helpless once more.

He was relieved when New Years finally came. Bidding his short farewells to his fellow Marauders, James was happy to see Lily perked up a bit with the party to come that night. James hoped his making their relationship at long last official would rid Lily of whatever darkness loomed over her. In the meantime he was content to just help her with setting up the party.

Professor McGonagall wouldn't be absent from the affair, since the staff were having their own get together in honor of the changing year. She didn't seem overtly concerned with Gryffindor's plans since virtually all the other Houses were of the same mind and the small number attending would be hard pressed to cause any serious trouble (particularly with the anticipated absences of Sirius, Peter, and Remus). Her only stipulation was that they were not aloud to venture the party outside as a blizzard was howling against the stone walls of Hogwarts and was positively blinding to be in.

With an assortment of sweets and beverages in the middle of the common room, the Gryffindors were chatting and acting rowdy enough to have fun without warranting Lily's interventions who (although was no McGonagall) was not someone to be trifled with when crossed.

James, Lily, and Arabella had perched themselves on the balcony overlooking the body of the common room. It was away from the party enough to keep up a conversation but they were still at a vantage point to keep an eye on things. To be sensitive to Arabella regarding Remus's absence, James and Lily had agreed prior to the bash that they wouldn't carry on too much as a couple in her presence. The most she could credit them with was holding hands a bit and with a couple light kisses exchanged.

In his efforts to be charming and amusing, James told stories (that he was permitted to mention) to Lily and Arabella about things himself, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had done over the course of their friendship. The one he was just finishing was about how during the summer leading into their 2nd Year he and the other Marauders had attempted to build a tree house in the woods near Sirius's manner in Kent but it only resulted in the lot of them being horribly bloodied by some very disgruntled Bowtruckles.

"I'd say Sirius proved he was the master of negotiations when he started waving that flaming stick about and swearing he'd use the lot of them as kindling for roasting marshmallows, you know the fluffy Muggle sweet!" James laughed shaking his head.

"Well off course! My mother's a Muggle along with the lot of Lily's kin!" Arabella laughed over the story along with her other friends. "Oh, hearing things like that really makes me wish Sirius and the others were here. It's not that it's a bad party but excitement follows Sirius like a stray dog!"

"I know what you mean." Lily nodded, somewhat missing the antics of the other boys, but noticing how manageable James was without their collective influence. "They're just over in Hogsmeade but they might as well be on the moon with how quiet it is. It was just the Lupins and Blacks coming in right? Why did Peter go along?"

"Acontiae; youngest of the Black sisters and two years our senior." James figured he may as well slip a bit of fact into the fiction he was feeding the girls. "Free spirit of the group, reminds me of you a bit, Arabella, with her features and hobbies, but she has twice the temper and half the sense of humor."

"Sounds like a positively foul girl then!" Arabella smirked, knowing herself a little too well.

"I think I remember her." Lily said thoughtfully. "A Hufflepuff who was close with that nosy Bertha Jorkins? When I heard her name I thought she was a distant cousin of Sirius's since she wasn't anything like him, not even in appearance. Blonde and pale unlike the rest of the line, right?"

"Yeah, that's Acontiae." James nodded. "I reckon Peter took to her because she was the odd one out and was one of the few people who can put Sirius in his place now and again. Sirius likes to tell Acontiae their mum fooled around a bit with her colleague in the Ministry by the name of Malfoy, since he somewhat fits the bill. When told by Sirius, Malfoy is 'The Devil if he decided to go about as an albino with a stick in his ass.'"

The three shared a laugh at Sirius's usual tact.

"Sirius must LOVE that Peter has a crush on her." Lily mused.

"Oh it bothers him to know end!" James assured. "His sisters are one of the few buttons you can really press with Sirius. He wasn't too thrilled when the lot of us got crushes on all three of them when we were younger."

"Oh that's so cute!" Arabella cooed. "We know who Peter fancies, what were the two that you and Remus sought after like?"

"Yes, do tell." Lily leaned in close to James, making him blush a little bit at the new topic of conversation.

"Well, Remus liked Celestine, she was in her 6th Year when we were all 1st Years, another Hufflepuff if I recall. Really good and kind with animals, Remus likes that sort of things because it tells you something about a person's character, he would say." James described. "I liked Aurora. Never went to school with her since she's about eight years older than the lot of us, but she was around Sirius's house often enough for me to appreciate her."

"And what did you appreciate of your older woman?" Lily teased.

"Aurora's smart, beautiful, maternal, and really responsible." James listed, before taking Lily's hand. "Guess that's just my type."

"Aw." Arabella sighed. "You kiss him for that, Evans or I will!"

Lily smiled at James for this and thanked him with a peck on the cheek. Arabella rolled her eyes as if she had just watched Sirius kiss one of his sisters but said nothing.

"Do I have to duel her for you?" Lily inquired, causing James to laugh.

"I very much doubt it. Aurora was always nice about my mooning for her, but I think I'll always be Sirius's very good friend whom she assumes has a permanent stutter because I could never manage a complete sentence in her presence." James said wistfully.

"Sounds like the Blacks are an interesting assortment." Arabella nodded. "Kind of like the family you never had."

"Pretty much." James agreed. "I think it accounts for why Sirius and I are so close. I was an only child my whole life and he only had girls to play with. Sirius always wanted a brother but his parents swore off anymore after him. They saw the damage he could do WITHOUT a wand and feared what another under his tutelage would be like."

The grandfather clock in the common room, chimed the hour of eleven and James pulled Lily up with him.

"Getting to be about that time." James decided to himself.

"What time?" Lily questioned.

"Midnight. I got some firecrackers and the like for the big change over and I need the Prefect to sanction everything before I pass it out." James informed. "I left them in the attic so no one would get into them before hand."

"Why not just leave them in your room?" Lily frowned.

"I said I didn't want anyone, i.e. Peter and Sirius, to get at them." James smiled. "Arabella, keep an eye on things for us for a bit?" He threw a wink her way. Arabella nodded and tried to keep the knowing smile off her lips.

"Sure James." Arabella confirmed as she got up to rejoin the party as Lily and James climbed the stairs near them.

At the peak of Gryffindor tower, James opened the door for Lily and she stepped in to find James had enchanted the ceiling and walls to look like a clear night sky in spite of the window showing white curtains of snow coming down. Lily marveled at all the display and figured it must have taken him hours if not days to manage it. She turned, smiling at James who was shutting the door behind them.

"Okay, I'm a liar." James admitted as he walked up to her. "But I wanted you to be surprised."

"I am." Lily breathed.

"Pleasantly?"

"Yes." Lily replied, embracing James and kissing him on the mouth.

For the first time in about a week, James dared to be a little more affectionate with Lily in this gesture but didn't want them to get carried away into another snogging session. Breaking their kiss and taking Lily by the hand, James pulled her to the center of the attic and gazed adoringly at her while moving the hair out of her face.

"I don't know if you're going to find this all redundant or think I'm a fool for waiting so long, but I just wanted to go about things properly and I wanted it to be memorable when I did it." James led in a little awkwardly. "It's almost impossible for me to remember a day when I didn't want to be with you Lily and I don't want to have to try to. I know we're close and I know it's implied but I'd be deliriously honored if you'd – "

James was cut off by a persistent tapping against the pane of glass in the room. He and Lily turned to see and Owl trying to get their attention from outside in the storm.

"Oh the poor thing!" Lily's hand clamped over her mouth as she bolted to the window to let the messenger bird in. It was soaked and coated in snow. Shivering it gave a post to Lily and snuggled against her for warmth.

James really envied that Owl presently.

"What wicked monster would send an Owl out in a mess like that!" James demanded.

"Apparently Severus Snape." Lily reported before she read on.

"Oh that BLOODY FIGURES!" James made a disgruntled noise and marveled at Snape's knack for timing when it came to royally pissing him off. Wondering what the letter was about anyway for Snape to go to such measures, James checked Lily's response but saw Lily was leaving the attic with the note in hand and the Owl on her arm.

Positively bewildered, James chased after her.

"What is it? Is something the matter?" James was worried now.

"Nothing, not yet." Lily replied. "But I have to go meet up with Severus outside."

Lily went into her bedroom, handed the bird off to James, and began to dress into her winter cloak and scarf. James was stunned, but thankfully not speechless.

"NOW?" James inquired in disbelief. "Lily, it's horrible out there and I was trying to – "

"I know and I'm sorry James, but I have to!" Lily insisted. "It's a Prefect matter. Could you return the Owl to the Owlry through the castle, I don't' have the heart to send it back out there then keep an eye on things until I get back?"

Lily was out the door again.

"Well at least let me come along!" James cried. "It could be dangerous out there, Lily."

"No." Lily said adamantly. "I need someone responsible here in charge."

"Then why they hell are you leaving ME!" James demanded.

"I don't have time for this, James!" Lily sighed as she made her way down to the common room. James swore loudly and raced to the boys' dormitory, grabbing the first cloak and scarf he saw that looked like it would fit. Racing back down with a fluttering Owl squawking in a very annoyed pitch at James, he passed the bird over to Bill Weasley.

"Weasley, Owlry!" James ordered, before turning to Arabella. "Figg, in charge!"

James was through the Fat Lady Portrait and followed after Lily at a pace that would be close for a shadow.

"James!" Lily sounded annoyed now, but he stopped her from walking regardless.

"Just tell me what it is?" James pressed. "What is so astoundingly important that Snape needs to see you at eleven at night on a holiday in the middle of a storm? I'm sorry Lily, it sounds fishy and if you want me to back off you'll need to do better than 'Prefect matter."

Lily passed James the letter she had just received, in something of a huff. James accepted it and read quickly.

To Prefect Evans:

A parchment fell into my possession that is virtually a signed confession by Sirius Black to one of his friends about some misdeeds they are involved in this very evening. It is expected to transpire at midnight and the note instructed that they would be meeting at the Whomping Willow on grounds. It alluded to a means of subduing the tree. I investigated this earlier and found a passage leading to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. I know the lot of them are in town this night, save for Potter so I can only assume the instructions had been for him to rendezvous later.

I would have mentioned all this to you at the lake but you ran off and I didn't feel like upsetting you any further than I had. I know this is only asking you to witness more harsh truths, Lily, however, I feel it is in your better interest to see Potter and his friends in action so you will believe my words.

If you decide to brave the weather and are inclined to take my advice in spite of however unwelcoming of my presence at the moment, I will wait for you by the Willow until eleven. Afterwards I will go on ahead and to expose Potter and his group for the menaces they are.

S. Snape

"The Owl must have gotten lost in the storm or couldn't find a window to get my attention at. That's probably why it was late." Lily guessed quietly. "I didn't want to tell you because I don't know what to think of it, James."

James wanted to question the part involving the lake as he but he focused on the other content of the note.

"Neither do I." James shook his head innocently.

"So Severus is making this up?" Lily asked. "You weren't planning on meeting Sirius and the others tonight?"

"No!" James honestly persisted. "I don't know what this is about, Lily but I know it doesn't make sense. We never exchange notes precisely because something like this might happen! I was right Lily; something isn't right at all with this."

"James, I have to know, is what Severus suspects right?" Lily stared straight into James's eyes. "Are Sirius and the others up to something that's going to land them in a lot of trouble? Is that why you didn't go with them? Severus will try to EXPEL all of you with this and maybe I can persuade him and the faculty otherwise if you tell me what's going on. If you're hiding something on their behalf, I NEED to know, James and right now! I can't help our friends if you don't tell me."

Lily eyes shifted from James's as she finished.

"And I can't give my heart to you if you're caught up in illicit things that you don't have the common courtesy of telling me about."

James grabbed Lily and kissed her. It was impulsive and inappropriate, but it was also the only thing he could think to do. She seemed to relax a little bit, accepting it as a reassuring gesture. Pulling away, James locked eyes with her again.

"Lily, I know I don't in any way deserve such a leap of faith on your part, but you have to trust me." James began urgently. "Me and my friends have been hiding something, it's very secretive and VERY dangerous and if Severus exposes this – . Never mind that, right now, I'll explain it all, every last thing to you later, but I have to try and find Snape now before he gets himself hurt and you have to stay here because I'm not entirely sure I can protect you if this gets as bad as I expect."

James looked so terrified and haunted as he spoke.

"James, you're scaring me." Lily whispered out as she felt her grip clutch onto James tighter. She was certain her nails must be digging into his flesh, but James didn't seem to notice the pain if there was any. He was too busy staring fixated at her.

"I know, and I'm sorry but you need to be scared. You need to stay here." James's tone quivered. "I have to hurry. Snape's got such a head start on me – "

James broke away from Lily and started sprinting down the hall. This time, Lily chased after him.

"Lily, I'm serious!" James pleaded.

"I know you are!" Lily cried. "And I'm trying to imagine what could worry you so much and I can't even fathom it! How am I supposed to let you go off to face this on your own? Not to mention Severus has no clue of what he's walking straight into!"

"I've dealt with this before, Lily, trust me I'll be fine and Snape will be fine if I hurry!" James assured. "You can't help me Lily!"

"Because you won't let me!" Lily retorted. "I'm every bit as capable a witch as you are a wizard. I'm a Prefect. And I care about you!"

"I know." James sighed. He needed to think fast and move faster. Slowing his pace down the hall, James stopped in front of a door and turned to Lily.

"All right." James relented. "You can come, but we'll have to take a secret passage through here if we're going to be in time."

James opened the door and let Lily step in before him. Lily glanced around perplexed as she scanned the buckets, mops, and cleaning supplies.

"It's a closet." Lily turned back to James.

"Pushing in a stone under the lantern opens a hidden door that leads outside." James explained as he removed his wand. "But I was serious when I said it was dangerous. You have your wand with you?"

Lily nodded and pulled it out of the folds of her robed.

"Right here." Lily showed James.

James seemed to hesitate for a moment as he stared at Lily, before a pained expression crossed his face. Too fast for her to react, one of James's hands shot out, wrenching her wand from her hand. The other shoved her over onto the ground. Lily was in complete shock when she fell backwards to the ground, landing on her side.

"I'm SO SORRY!" James cried as he stepped out of the closet and slammed the door behind him. Lily scrambled to her feet and tried to open the door, but James must have been holding the knob on the other side.

"JAMES, LET ME OUT!" Lily screamed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Protecting you!" James pointed his wand at the handle of the door as Lily attempted to pull it back open.

"SERA!" James magically charmed the door to remain closed until an opening Charm was cast upon it.

Unable to waste anymore time, James raced away from the sounds of Lily pounding against the door. He thoroughly hated himself for how he had just tricked Lily and was sure she was feeling something similar to that, but James would rather spend a lifetime apologizing to Lily than regret putting her in danger. Jumping through an illusionary mirror and into a hidden passage, James thought frantically on how to navigate the secret routes of Howarts for the fastest way out of the castle.

After that, it was a foot race with Snape that James wasn't sure he could win.

Snape had lingered at the entrance of the Whomping Willow an extra five minutes after eleven, in case the weather had detained Lily in meeting him. It was impossible to see much through the thick, swirling flakes but after Snape was relatively sure Lily wouldn't be joining him he entered the passageway alone.

"Lumos." Snape muttered with his wand out.

The corridor before him made the dungeons of Hogwarts seem cozy. Keeping a quick pace, wanting to beat Potter and the others to the Shrieking Shack, Snape kept himself alert and ready. He felt confident and believed he would soon feel vindicated in everything he had been saying all these years about that loathsome Gryffindor foursome.

Pity Lily wouldn't see for herself.

Snape, again, felt disappointed in her for not showing but recognized she may have been wary about being able to confront Potter and people she considered friends. Although Snape had now idea as to how attached Lily was to Potter already, her emotional reaction yesterday gave him an indication that it was fairly significant. In hindsight, it was probably a poor calculation on his part to ask Lily to come along since she might not have been able to handle the situation he anticipated emotionally. It was good she had jilted him this night. Lily was too sensitive and forgiving to deal with these boys as they deserved to be.

Snape, however, did not suffer from such complication.

It took James two minutes to find his way out of the castle and into the blizzard. Carefully estimating where the Willow entrance was and hoping the manic tree was still deactivated, James changed over into his stag form as four legs moved faster than two.

The tree was dormant, to his relief, and James didn't even slow his stride as he took into the passageway and charged full gallop ahead. James felt himself hit and scrap against the walls as he moved. He considered changing back into his normal form, but realized that he was still moving faster in spite of his constant collisions with the wall and ceiling that he would as a human with unhindered movement. Adrenaline kept James moving and helped him to ignore the burning of his lungs and the pain of his scrapes and bruises.

A flicker of light caught his attention in the vast darkness of the corridor. Abandoning his Animage form, James continued running ahead as he called out.

"SNAPE! STOP!"

The light stopped moving forward, waiting for James to catch up. James kept running until he could see Snape's silhouette in the dark. Collapsing against the wall, James panted breathlessly as Snape approached him slowly.

"Potter." Snape hissed. James couldn't decide if he was angry or thrilled to see him. Snape had his wand pointed straight at James and seemed more than willing to curse him if it called for it. Trying not to do anything sudden, James attempted to regain his breath as he felt Snape's eyes looking him over.

"You're a bloody mess." Snape observed without concern. James glanced at himself. He was covered in fresh cuts and bruises being stung by the damp earth around them. Mud and blood tarnished his hands and parts of his face.

"I know." James choked out. "I had to catch up to you."

"You expected me?" Snape asked coldly. "Lily told you then. And you tried to warn your friends. Or were you planning on dispensing with me yourself?

"Lily told me nothing." James lied slightly; he didn't want Snape to blame Lily for something that wasn't her fault. "I took the letter you sent to her and read it."

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor." Snape decided with a hint of amusement. "Theft of mail, Potter? Tsk, tsk. I suppose it will be a drop in the bucket once everyone knows about whatever dirty little secret you and your friends are harboring just ahead."

James glanced passed Snape and saw the door leading into the Shrieking Shack was only a few strides away from them. Feeling himself pale, James turned to Snape and prayed he would believe him.

"Look, Snape." James started adamantly. "It's a trick. I don't know how you came across whatever note you found, but it's completely false. Sirius just wanted to get you out in this storm, let you wander about for a bit, maybe fall on your ass over an ice patch, but find nothing. You're on a wild goose chase, Snape. Let's head on back."

Snape studied James, cocking his head slightly to the side, before a hollow sounding chuckle passed out of his throat. The echo was unnerving to James.

"Nice try, Potter." Snape smirked sarcastically. "But I'm not a fool. I'm supposed to assume you'd bother to come all this way, in all this hurry, just to prevent me from catching a cold?"

"If a man doesn't have his health…" James shrugged, earning an unappreciative look from Snape.

"Spare me your, cheek." Snape snapped. "On your feet, Potter. We're going to find your friends and see what you've been hiding all this time, right under all our noses."

Snape kept his wand on James with a steady poise, like a serpent waiting to attack. James needed to get Snape and himself back the way they had come and quickly.

"Okay, I know we've been rivals, Snape, pretty much since we've come to Hogwarts, but listen to me." James appealed. "It's clear to me Sirius was plotting something I'm sure he thought would be funny, but it's not. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I know it might be dangerous if we don't head back. He was luring you here for a reason, Snape, and I think he went too far on this. We might not like one another, but I don't think EITHER of us are so embittered that we truly wish to see the other seriously hurt."

Snape was silent, listening to the sincerity in James's voice. Licking his lips, James hoped Snape was starting to believe him.

"How's this?" James offered. "You've got me right here with enough to land me in detention from now until the O.W.L.s. March me right back to McGonagall, I'll admit to everything I've told you, from tricking you to all the other misdeeds you can nail me for. I'll be sure Sirius gets his for this too. Just trust me when I say I know my friends are up to no good and I want to make sure nothing we'll ALL regret transpires tonight."

Snape was still silent before a short laugh passed his lips.

"Very convincing, Potter." Snape snorted. "Perhaps you'll find work as an actor now that you've failed as a wizard."

James sighed, running his hand through his hair. Snape shook his wand at James disapprovingly.

"Keep those hands visible." Snape order as he gestured towards the door leading into the Shack. "Go on, ahead. Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on your back since you've been so generous in watching out for mine."

James grumbled to himself as he moved pass Snape and towards the door. Stopping abruptly, James turned to face Snape again.

"I'm being honest, Snape."

"Enough."

James closed his eyes and bit his lip in frustration. He had no choice, he had to tell Snape what was waiting for him and hoped that would be enough. If he kept stalling, James knew he'd have spent whatever waning credibility he had with Snape and they'd be walking right up to a werewolf under a full moon. James stared Snape square in the eye.

"It's a werewolf." James said firmly.

"What?"

"A werewolf." James repeated. "That's what's behind here. That's the big secret we've been hiding. It's a full moon, Snape. We'll be walking to our deaths if we go on ahead. It's the truth. If we stand here for a moment, I'm sure we'll hear it."

Snape seemed more than irritated now.

"It's beyond me how you get away with so much considering how fantastic your lies are." Snape growled. "You're grasping at straws, Potter. Move."

Grasping at straws.

James thought quickly. Realizing he might have an ace up his sleeve that he didn't even realize, James threw on his most distraught and relenting expression (which was pretty natural by this point)

"If you INSIST upon going ahead, can I at least have my wand out?" James requested. "I mean, I don't want to have to use an action drawing it when we run into certain doom."

Snape seemed slightly perturbed. James didn't know if it was because he wouldn't drop going on about a werewolf or just the thought of James having his wand.

"I think not." Snape answered shortly.

"Oh come on." James pleaded. "I'll keep it at my side and you can keep your wand on me, well, until we meet the werewolf, I imagine."

"In all honesty, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the wand even being in your robes, Potter." Snape approached James. "I think I'll hang onto it and if we run into a creature of the night I'll be sure to return it. Arms out."

James obliged as Snape felt into his outer robes. A quizzical expression crossed his face as he took a step away from James and examined the two wands in his hands. Studying the extra wand, Snape's eyes met James.

"What are you doing with Evans's wand in your possession?" Snape demanded, obviously jarred by this.

It wasn't hard for James to look guilty over this. The look on Snape's face left James to wonder if he was going to hex him right on the spot for whatever he was suspecting. The light from his wand showed Snape's eyes were narrow and accusing. His teeth were bared.

"It's odd that you're covered in cuts and bruises." Snape spoke in a damning tone. "It is even more peculiar that Lily has yet to arrive on the scene and you have her wand. A girl who is charmed by you, trusts you, could easily be led off to some dark corner of the school. Is that why you didn't join your friends tonight, Potter? So you could exploit Lily's affection for you? Not enough willing candidates about to your liking?"

James's eyes went wide at what Snape was insinuating and felt offended to his core. He had wanted Snape to find the wand; he had wanted Snape to be curious as to how James had gotten it and where Lily was without it. He did NOT want to listen to Severus Snape accuse him of assaulting Lily.

"Hold on there!" James screamed. "Don't you DARE suggest anything like that of me again or I swear you'll be lucky if I feed you to a ruddy werewolf!"

"Where. Is. Lily?" Snape was unimpressed by James's outburst.

"In a closet. I locked her in so she wouldn't follow me." James realized this wasn't helping his case.

"Show me. NOW!" Snape barked, enraged and no longer interested in whatever Sirius and the others were hiding. James walked past Snape, glaring at him as he headed back up the way they had come. Although he no longer had a werewolf to worry about, James was still a far cry from relieved as they made their way back to the school at a hurried pace.

I hear voices.

One is a friend, but the other is not.

Blood. Fresh.

I smell it.

So hard to control myself.

Blood and voices.

Keep control.

The moon calls to me.

It calls for blood.

The voices are leaving this place.

Perhaps I will as well.

James and Snape remained in silence, hating each others company, until they were clear of the passage and back in the school. It was then Snape started to hiss in James's ear.

"They'll expel you for sure after this, Potter." Snape informed. "I doubt even the ever-forgiving Dumbledore will turn a blind eye to what you've accomplished for yourself this night."

"I didn't rape Lily." James seethed.

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't." Snape confided. "But there are a great many loathsome things you can do to a person aside from that. You'll also be happy to know I've decided to take your word on there being a werewolf. In fact, I'll wager its Lupin."

Snape took the sudden tension to course through Potter along with his silence as a confirmation.

"It makes sense once all things are placed together." Snape went on. "His sickly disposition, gone always around the time of the full moon. How dangerous such a thing could be to all the students and faculty here. I'm sure the Aurors will see it that way once they're called in. That is, after they're done sorting through what your crimes against Lily."

"Lily's fine." James spat out.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Was Snape's reply.

"Lily was insistent upon going and I didn't know if I would catch up to you in time." James explained in a tired tone. "I couldn't let her walk into a confrontation with a werewolf so I tried to keep her out of harm's way. It's not as though I regard it as my finest hour and you'd have done something similar in my position."

"No I wouldn't have." Snape sneered at Potter comparing them. "I'm not so self-important that I can't recognize talent and capability when it's right in front of me. Or, in your case, if you're snogging it."

"So THAT'S what this is about." James laughed humorlessly.

"Don't even attempt to analyze me or my motives, Potter." Snape warned. "Not with the myriad of faults in your own possession. Betraying lovers, betraying your best friends; I'm ever so privileged to be up close to the epitome of the chivalry and loyalty Gryffindor has to offer."

"I didn't betray Lily and I'm not betraying Sirius!" James growled. "He went overboard with this and I'm putting a stop to it before he gets more than he bargained for. That's what friends need to do at times."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." Snape replied in a mocking sympathetic tone.

"Don't worry about it, Snape." James rolled his eyes. "I don't expect YOU to understand how complicated friendships can be. After all, the closest you've probably ever had to one was that abnormal thing you share with Lily."

"Abnormal?" Snape's voice seethed. "I suppose I could have snuck into her room like a voyeur OR assaulted her with explosives OR showed utter disrespect for her position as a Prefect and person in general OR battered her before locking her in a confined space, but then how else would the Great James Potter court women who are the subject of his disturbed fixations?"

How dare Potter critique his social conduct with Lily after all the stunts he'd pulled with her? Underneath Potter's captivating presence and boyish charm lurked an unbalanced mind that was egotistical, manipulative, and, above all, an invitation for danger. No one wanted to recognize that quality in James Potter even though all the signs were there, but Snape couldn't bleat his praises along with the rest of the sheep at Hogwarts. He had tried to warn Lily about what sort of a man Potter was fashioning himself into, but she was so stubborn when it came to her faith in people.

The same sort of stubbornness she displayed toward him.

It was a pity Lily had to learn the hard way and have her trust betrayed by this rogue she had defended but things could have ended far worse for her, Snape had to admit with relief. She'd see what Potter was like now, just as Snape had always seen him.

"I imagine this will be the final nail in the coffin of whatever tryst you and Evans entertained." Snape decided as they had finally made their ways back into the castle walls.

James sucked in a deep breath before grinding his teeth. Snape was such an ignorant git for going on with all his assumptions, but James couldn't ignore that maybe the tactless creep had a point in all this. Compared to all the bizarre and thoughtless things he had done to Lily, she and Snape had an almost healthy association. Even if he could admit that to himself, James would never give Snape any indication that he was ever right about anything concerning his life, let alone the parts of it with Lily.

"You're mighty lucky you have that wand pointed at me Snape or I'd be settle things much like a Muggle would at this moment." James glared over his shoulder before facing forward again.

"Ah, but that's not the situation now is it, Potter?" Snape sneered. "Because here we are. Taking what will probably be your last stroll through Hogwarts once it's brought to light how you and your group have been harboring a werewolf, attacking Prefects, and endangering the safety of the students in general. It's fortunate I was able to subdue the ringleader of such a menace to the school's population. Do you suppose I'll receive a special service award for all this?"

James was more determined than ever to knock that condescending tone out of Snape's voice.

"Don't romanticize this by prattling on how the elusive James Potter finally made a fatal mistake you were able to monopolize off of..." James interrupted shortly. "…You didn't catch me, I handed myself over to you. If I hadn't walked right up to you in the passage and confessed everything, you'd still be as clueless as you always are about everything I do. It's sort of funny if you think about it. I mean, you couldn't have caught me if I hadn't of helped you."

James smugly glanced over his shoulder again to see he had succeeded in agitating Snape before he threw a jibe right to his pasty face.

"So I think if you get a trophy for all this, my name should be somewhere on it too since I did half the work for you. Does that diminish your satisfaction in all this?"

"Fret not, Potter. I believe I'll perk right back up when I watch them break your wand in front of your face." Snape assured.

James went back to facing forward. Were they going to get expelled for all this? He couldn't be sure. Hopefully Lily would at least clear him of the vicious assault Snape would vividly describe before she never spoke to him again and Dumbledore was well aware of Remus's condition and where the boys go, but Sirius was the wild card in all this.

James didn't know why, but he was sure Sirius had been luring Snape out. It wasn't just dangerous, it was stupid. If Snape hadn't been hurt, bitten, or killed, Remus would be exposed to the school in the very least. James felt furious at his best friend at the moment.

Was Sirius so compelled to get at Snape that he was willing to risk and ruin lives to do it?

James stopped in front of the closet were he had left Lily.

"In here." James nodded towards the door.

Snape stepped in front of the door and pointed his wand.

"Alohomora!"

The door swung open to reveal an empty closet. Snape turned to Potter crossly, to find him staring into the space just as surprised.

"I left her here." James insisted. "She must have gotten out."

"Good. You'll be able to see her in Dumbledore's office one last time before they expel you." Snape motioned for James to head in that direction. James didn't budge.

"Are you really that thick?" James marveled. "She thinks the two of us are in mortal peril, where do YOU think Lily ran off to?"

Snape studied James before he became even more pale and rigid than usual.

"Without a wand?" Snape questioned in disbelief.

"If you thought Lily was about to meet some horrible fate, would it deter you?" James snapped. "Because she IS and I'm NOT deterred!"

James bolted down the corridor, uncaring if Snape decided to hex him in the back for running off. Snape chased after him.

"Potter!" He called from behind. James turned as Snape returned his wand. "I'm only doing this because I can trust you on this issue. Now swear on something I'll believe that you'll make good on your word that you'll confess to everything once Lily's out of peril. I don't want to get into a battle of my word against yours later on when we're explaining this mess tonight."

"I swear I will abandon all hope of being with Lily Evans if I don't." James vowed.

"Well you might as well do that anyways, but it will do." Snape sneered as they made their way back out into the storm.

1t was now 1977.

Neither had noticed.

AFTERWARDS

So we find out a little bit about Sirius's family in this chapter since it might come up later pretends to look innocent . I figured Sirius seems like the type who was the "baby" of the family and with nothing but a bunch of sisters to torment, no wonder he's the lovable little prankster he is. Since Sirius is the name of a star I figure his parents might have something of a pattern going on so that's how I came up with the other siblings' names.

Acontiae Shooting Star

Aurora Dawn

Celestine Derivative of Celeste or heavenly.


	18. Still Alive and Well?

Still Alive and Well?

By: Oy! Angelina

Twenty Minutes Earlier

"I swear if whatever James has gone after doesn't kill him, I will." Lily muttered to herself in the dim closet.

After spending what she assumed to be half an hour trying to find a way out of the storage room or calling for help, Lily gave up to pacing out of frustration and worry. All the students were in their Houses, celebrating the New Year, the faculty had their own party they were all attending, and the only individuals who were probably about the castle corridors were Filch and Mrs. Norris, but it was a rather large castle and they certainly had a lot of duties to attend to. Lily wondered how often Filch revisited the closet or if she was stuck there until James came back.

If James came back.

Lily had a chill.

Not wanting to work herself into a frenzy fretting over whether James and Severus were presently hurt or dead, Lily put the rational part of her mind to work in an effort to figure out the situation itself.

James had alluded to something very secretive and dangerous the boys were keeping, something the Severus could uncover. Lily had no idea what it might be. A cursed artifact? A Dragon? Lily could only guess but knew James probably was serious about the threat involved with it. Admittedly, she was angry with James for locking her in the closet like he had, but it was mostly because he had wounded her pride. Although he didn't seem particularly happy about doing it to her, James had still just inferred that he thought of Lily as a hindrance rather than a help.

Was it because she was a woman? A Muggle-born perhaps? Lily couldn't decide what James's motivations were for his actions, but figured it wasn't anything consciously bigoted. She figured James's mind was probably operating under more ease now that she was so effectively removed from harm's way and Lily didn't want him to do something stupid because he was too busy worry about someone he cared about.

Still, Lily doubted James would have locked Sirius in a damn closet.

Prat.

Lily, searched her robes and realized James still had her letter from Severus. She was going to reread it to see if she could pick up on something she might have overlooked initially. Recalling what she could, Lily remembered that Severus had mentioned the note prompting him to venture out that night he had been written by Sirius but James had said they never exchanged notes to one another about that sort of thing just in case someone happened to find it.

So what did that mean then?

Lily wondered if Sirius had just been careless and wrote a partial confession of some kind down that Severus happened to find, but it seemed uncannily coincidental for something so incriminating to fall into the possession of Sirius's most persistent enemy. Lily began to question whether Severus did just "happen" across the parchment or if there was more to his acquisition of it than she could presently see. Of course that meant she had to expect something foul of either Severus or Sirius to explain it.

Did Sirius plant the note for Severus to find, working for a larger purpose of sorts? But James's reaction gave the indication that whatever Sirius was leading Severus into would be unsafe. Would Sirius intentionally try something that might leave Severus hurt? Lily knew the two had a bad feud going, worse that Severus and James at times, but she didn't think they were at the point where putting one another in danger were acceptable terms of engagement.

Or was it just Sirius who crossed the line?

Lily didn't like that thought. Sirius was outspoken and a little hasty but he never struck her as malicious. Also, this would mean that Severus had somehow been easily duped by a planted note. Severus was always so suspicious and astute; Lily failed to see how he would take so much on faith with just a slip of parchment as his basis. Of course, Lily had remembered Severus mentioning to her, around the time he asked her to the ball that, that he had been aware of the boys sneaking about for sometime. Maybe he had more to support him that Lily was aware of.

Lily attempted to process the situation from a different angle so as not to damn Sirius straight away. What is Sirius didn't lure Severus out intentionally? Did Severus find the note under the pretense of happenstance or had he done something more illicit to get it? Was there EVEN a note? Lily couldn't really see Severus stealing or planting evidence, he seemed to possess too much personal integrity for something like that, but Lily knew that there was nothing Severus wanted more than to get the boys in trouble. Was he so fixated on his grudge that he was willing to do whatever he could think of just so James and his friends would be stuck in detention or worse?

But then why would he call her out to meet him if he was engineering some elaborate net to ensnare James and the others? Was it so clever and seamless that even Lily would be convinced?

Lily hated how her mind was working. It made her feel like she belonged in Slytherin with all the mistrust it was conjuring. The faint echo of footsteps shook Lily's attention. She jumped back to the door and started pounding her hand against it.

"Hello! Quickly, let me out, I've been locked in!" Lily called through the wooden door, hoping whoever it was would hear her. She heard feet come towards her at a hurried pace.

"Prefect Evans?" The voice sounded like it belonged to Bill Weasley. "What are you doing in a closet?"

"James locked me in, let me out!" Lily insisted.

She heard a snorted sound of laughter.

"How'd he manage that?" Bill asked in an amused, admiring tone. "That man's brilliance at work, he is!"

"James Potter is NOT a role model!" Lily screeched. "Now let me out of here this instant Bill Weasley or you'll be landing yourself in the same cauldron of hot water as James!"

"Alright, alright!" Bill consented. Lily thought she heard him mumble something about not getting how James could like a girl with no sense of humor. "Alohomora!"

The door swung open and Lily stepped out and shut the door behind her.

"You're lucky I took this way back from the Owlry." Bill informed with a proud grin for saving his Prefect from the result of her trusting nature.

"Now I'm going to need you to find Professor McGonagall." Lily instructed. The grave tone in her voice snapped Bill into a serious disposition.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Bill looked eager to sprint towards the faculty party on her command.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think it might be bad." Lily replied. "The most I know is that James followed Severus Snape outside to the Whomping Willow. Something horrible might happen, I'm going on ahead to see if I can do anything."

"Is that smart?" Bill looked concerned.

"No. Incidentally, that's why I'm not a role model either." Lily admitted, remember her lack of wand. "But, well, I'm the Prefect aren't I? Now go!"

Bill and Lily ran off in opposite direction, him to the faculty party at the other end of the castle and she to the Whomping Willow.

James and Snape stood within arms length of one another, but amidst the fury of snow, they were still forced to shout at one another just to be heard. Committed to a momentary truce, Snape and James were still wary of one another's presence and would catch each others glare in between their scanning about for any sign of Lily.

At the mouth of the Whomping Willow passage, James was about to forge ahead into the tunnel when Snape grabbed him by the robes.

"Wait." Snape ordered over the screaming wind. "There are tracks here. The roots and trunk guarded most of them against the wind."

James stepped off to the side and bent close to the ground to determine what the tracks were. A thoughtful expression crossed James's face as he examined the marks left in the snow.

"What do you see?" Snape demanded, noting Potter's disposition.

"Our tracks and Lily's, they walk off towards you, not into the passage I think." James reported.

Snape began peering around his own feet to see if he could discern where the tracks head off too. James had also noted what appeared to be the impressions of Padfoot and Wormtail, but said nothing since he felt Snape had learned enough secrets about him and his friends for a lifetime. Pausing, James wondered why the hell Sirius and Peter would be out this way unless –

"Oh Bloody Hell!" James yelled in frustration and fear as he saw footprints that were a marriage of man and beast. "Remus is out!"

A shallow expression of fear crossed Snape's face but he quickly traded it in for resentment.

"Damn you all for this, Potter!" Snape hissed as he went back to his guess work of Lily's direction. Scarlet drops speckled the snow. "Blood. There's blood here."

James could be sick.

Someone he loved was bleeding and he didn't know why.

"We have to hurry, the storm has probably swept most of it away by now!" James's was urgent. He felt himself close to hysterics. "Can you think of any Charms we might have learned that would make the trail more visible?"

Snape eyed Potter. He knew of several means to achieve what Potter was asking, but only a few could be done with a wand alone. It was the sort of incantation that raised questions amongst the morally inclined and Snape knew it was probably blacker than Potter typically likes his magic. Faced with the possibility of Lily bleeding to death somewhere in the midst of the blizzard, Snape decided he'd worry about the consequences later on. Not willing to waste any further time, Snape waved his wand and chanted the spell.

One of the benefits of being a Pureblood wizard was a firm grasp of Latin and other dead languages; this allowed James to understand what Snape was calling upon.

"Stalk my wounded prey so I may render its final breath."

At least that was the rough translation.

A black wisp of smoke in the form of a sinister looking bird sprang from Snape's wands and soared out into the storm. Beneath its path of flight, the hidden blood illuminated like the dying embers of a fire, revealing a broken path traveling off. James and Snape followed the crimson trail, neither wishing to speculate what would be found at the end of it.

The most they knew was the path was leading towards the Forbidden Forest.

It had occurred to Padfoot about fifteen minutes ago that he had screwed up royally. He had spent the remaining fourteen trying to set everything right.

Moony went into a frenzy back at the Shack. Padfoot had managed to keep him under control for a little while, but a werewolf would have none of that once it was properly agitated. Moony had slammed him into headlong into a wall.

That had really hurt.

It was a stunning blow; forcing Padfoot to take a minute to remember which way was up before he could chase after his friend. He had discovered Moony had broken his way out through the door connecting them to the Willow tunnel.

Wormtail was nowhere to be found.

Padfoot could guess that he probably went to trail after Moony, so as not to lose track, but who could be certain of anything right now?

Sniffing out for Moony, Padfoot smelled fresh blood. Mostly Moony, he must have hurt himself busting loose. A little was James's.

This was when Padfoot exactly discovered he had screwed up royal.

Bounding ahead, Padfoot was terrified he'd be tripping over the body of his best friend any moment but found nothing more than a storm awaiting him at the end of the passage. To his relief, Padfoot lost the scent of James and picked up Wormtail's.

Like hot chocolate with a splash of aftershave.

He had been right. Wormtail was following Moony. Padfoot was loosing track of Moony over the wind, but Wormtail's was still there, clingingly low to the ground.

Padfoot followed.

Wondering if it was possible to herd back Moony to the Shrieking Shack before dawn, Padfoot figured the best he could do now was keep on his friend and make sure he hurt no one and nobody hurt him. Padfoot caught the dark impression of tress.

Moony had gone into the Forbidden Forest.

Great. The only place with things that could scare a werewolf.

Padfoot was about to resume his chase when he caught a new scent.

What you would expect of old parchment fluttering across an April flowerbed.

Lily?

Padfoot had officially screwed up.

Five Minutes Earlier

In spite of the whipping winds and blinding snowfall, Lily had found her way to the Whomping Willow. It looked odd to her, not thrashing about trying to pummel everything in range. Lily hadn't been near the tree since the Ravenclaw boy, Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye to it and she, along with the rest of the students, had been prohibited to go near it again.

She wondered if more than eyes would be possibly lost this evening.

There was an entrance way leading past the roots. Lily was hesitant to enter the dark mouth of the tunnel. Without her wand, Lily wasn't only without a source of light, she was helpless. Lily wasn't even sure why she had dared to come out and face an unnamed peril knowing that James was in possession of the only weapon she had.

"Because I'm a Gryffindor and that makes me a recklessly, gallant prat." Lily decided, with the wind as her witness. "And because people I care about need me."

Didn't they?

Lily glanced around, feeling completely ineffectual at the moment. It was as thought she was searching for something to push her towards some specific action.

It came in the form of blood.

Lily felt her breath stolen from her as she crouched by speckles of blood on the white snow. It had yet to freeze.

That meant it had been shed recently.

Walking hunched so she could peer at the snow, Lily caught sight of where the blood was trialing and tried to follow. She squinted into the blizzard, wondering if she'd find a body lying not to far off of someone injured…or worse. It was then she caught the silhouette blurred under the snowfall.

It was impossible to distinguish who the figure belonged to, but they were tall and bulky. From their cloak maybe? Lily started to chase after them, but it was so hard to keep her footing without watching her step. She ran hard in spite of the poor traction; she needed to get close enough to the person so they could hear her call to them over the wild howl of the wind that kept blaring. Stumbling through the cold, resistant snow, Lily kept using her hands to brace herself and correct her stance. She was about to call out to whoever was ahead of her when she felt someone seize her by the arm and pull her back.

Lily gasped and spun around, face to face with Sirius Black.

"What are you doing out here, Lily?" Sirius demanded in an anxious voice.

"What am I – " Lily started in disbelief, but shook herself back to the situation. "Forget it! James and Severus are out here, Sirius! I found blood and saw someone moving that way!"

Lily pointed off to where she had last seen the figure treading. Sirius's reaction suggested that he was afraid she was going to say that.

"Let me walk you back to the castle, Lily! You shouldn't be out tonight!" It wasn't really a request since he had already started to drag her. Lily struggled against Sirius's grip.

"Of course not!" Lily agreed completely put off by Sirius's peculiar behavior. "But Severus and James are out there and SOMEONE is BLEEDING Sirius! Now let me go, help me find them or I'll – I'll knock points off Gryffindor for your insolence and unchivalrous behavior!"

"Lily, I'm not asking!" Sirius screamed at her.

He had the same haunted expression as James did.

"What's going on, Sirius?" Lily cried. "Why is everyone so afraid? Why did you want Snape to meet you out here?"

"How –" Sirius started to question this but stopped. "DAMN IT! It IS my fault you're out here! Come on!"

Again, Sirius was pulling Lily towards the castle. Lily fought harder to escape Sirius, but she wasn't having much success since the boy was much taller and stronger than she herself was. The most Lily was accomplishing was making it hard on him.

"Stop it!" Sirius ordered.

"You stop it!" Lily countered childishly. "What the HELL is wrong with you!"

Sirius released Lily. She lost her footing for a moment until she could correct her balance. Turning back to Sirius, Lily saw him pointing his wand at her with a reluctant, but resolved expression. Lily wasn't scared of this sight.

She was stunned.

"You're joking." Lily had to believe that.

"Not tonight, Lily. Not a thing I find funny about tonight." Sirius shook his head. A sudden howl on the wind shook Sirius. "We're heading inside. Now."

"Sirius…You're pointing your wand at me." Lily sputtered out, as though he were somehow ignorant of the situation. Lily certainly didn't understand it.

"I know." Sirius replied regretfully. "Come along."

"I can't believe this." Lily shook her head, tightening her cloak. "Well go on then!"

"I'm not kidding here, Lily!" Sirius warned.

"Then show me how serious you really are!" Lily challenged. "Come on! Attack an unarmed Witch! Proud moment for Gryffindor, glad to be play part in it!"

Sirius's entire demeanor was conflicted. He could barely keep his wand steady. Who could blame him, considering who he was pointing it at?

"You had best be under the Imperius Curse Sirius, because that is the ONLY explanation I'm accepting at this moment! I'm not going anywhere without first finding James and Severus! So your options are to hex me, drag me kicking and screaming, or helping me out here. Which is it?" Lily transferred all her feelings of pain and deception into seething anger. It was the only way she could cope with this situation.

To cope with this entire night.

"Someday I'll have to explain all this to you, Lily. " Sirius looked like a kick dog as he spoke this. "I'm sorry I don't have time tonight. Hopefully you won't hate me too much later."

Sirius raised his wand steady on her. Lily couldn't look at him anymore.

"Oh, Sirius…"

It was the disappointment and betrayal in her pitch that would bother Sirius long after that night.

"Stupefacio."

A flash of light caught both Snape and James's attention, abandoning the trail the two sprinted toward the source. Neither knew were certain of what they'd expect to find once they reached the origin, but it definitely wasn't what they did find.

In the least, James didn't expect it.

Directing the Mobilicorpus Charm with his wand, Sirius levitated what appeared to be an unconscious Lily in front of him as he made his way toward the castle. He turned suddenly when he saw James and Snape.

James was beyond words at this sight.

Snape was not.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Snape cursed Sirius, causing his entire body to seize up and topple backwards in the snow. As his wand lowered, so did Lily's suspension in the air, leaving her crumpled on a snowdrift. This jarred James back to himself. Fighting his natural instinct to hex Snape for what he had just done to his friend, James pointed his wand at Sirius instead.

"Finite Incantatum!" James dispelled Snape's hex. "How are we supposed to get him back to the castle? Ride him like a bloody sled?"

"Petrificus Totalus." Snape hexed again, stubbornly. "I think Black just proved on Evans that the Mobilicorpus charm is extremely effective."

"Fine!" James didn't feel like arguing this anymore. He just wanted to get everyone back into the castle before they ran into Remus in his altered state. Snape used his wand to lurch Sirius into the air. James approached Lily and waved his wand.

"Ennervate." James cast, causing Lily to revive. She reacted as any person who had just been shaken awake in a strange location would.

"Lily, I am so extraordinarily sorry!" James apologized as he leaned in to help Lily.

Lily slapped his hand away before she struck her own across James's face. The crack could be heard over the wind. The blow knocked his glasses into a snowdrift, causing James to retrieve them before looking at Lily. There was not expression of surprise or indignation on his face.

James had no right to be either of those things.

"I've got you shoving me into closets, Sirius hexing me, someone's hurt and bleeding out in the snow and I don't know who they are. I've spent the last hour worrying people were dead or homicidal. I've had a very horrible night and I don't think you being 'extraordinarily sorry' about it will make it any better." Lily vented with tears streaming in spire of the cold.

"I am sorry, though." James assured as he handed Lily's wand back to her. Lily accepted it. James saw her fingers were black and blue. Though revived, Lily didn't look particularly well from what James saw of her. crying, shaking, and probably suffering from more trauma and worry than she had any other time before, it broke James's heart to see her like this and know that he was responsible.

"Lily's got frostbite." James reported to Snape. "Let's hurry and get her inside! We really need to tell the Professor's what's going on since Peter and Remus are still unaccounted for."

Snape nodded as he directed Sirius along towards the castle, following behind. He stole a glace at Lily before moving on ahead.

"Here." James put his arms under and around her to help her through the snow. Lily resisted this a bit, but was too fatigued to put up much of a fight. "You used the last of your strength on that shiner you just gave me. Let me help you now and you can hate me later. I promise."

As the castle came into view, so did the party of Hogwarts faculty, lead by Dumbledore.

"My goodness!" Professor McGonagall cried as she dispelled the binding charm holding Sirius. "What has happened here?"

"Indeed." Snape replied coldly, before turning to Sirius. "Black?"

"Is there anyone else we should know about wandering this horrible storm?" Professor Dumbledore frowned in concern.

"Remus." Sirius spoke up. "He got lose and worked his way back to the school. He made his way into the Forbidden Forest best I can guess. Peter was following after him."

"Professor McGonagall, I will require you're assistance in sorting out the events of tonight as Deputy Headmistress and the Head of Gryffindor since so many of your charges are involved." Dumbledore requested earnestly.

"Of course." McGonagall agreed as she went over to help James with Lily, observing her exposure to the cold. "Quickly, James! We must hurry Lily to the Hospital Wing at once!"

"Yes, Professor." James lifted Lily off her feet so she was cradled in his arms and followed after the Head of his House.

Dumbledore turned to address the remaining faculty, consisting notably of Professor Sprout the Herbology instructor, Professor Brewsteem the Potions Mistress, Professor Kettleburn the Caretaker of Magical Creatures, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Heilsing, Charms instructor Flitwick, and Hagrid, the Groudskeepeer,

"I must ask the remainder of you to venture into the Forbidden Forest to find our unaccounted for students. Even in his feral state, I do not believe that the dark woods are a place for Mr. Lupin and there is still Mr. Pettigrew to think of. Be as gentle as you can afford in retrieving Mr. Lupin, he is not his usual accommodating self tonight I'm afraid. I believe Vigilia Heilsing will serve well in command of this situation."

Vigilia Heilsing was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in her late thirties with hair bound in a long braid that had gone completely white from stress. Prior to teaching at Hogwarts, she had assisted the Ministry in identifying and tracking intelligent or part human dark creatures, such as Vampires, Werewolves, and Banshees, that were a menace to Muggles and Wizards alike. One of Dumbledore's first acts when becoming the Headmaster was tempting her with the position of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, which she agreed to accept only if she could be the Head of Slytherin House as well. Dumbledore had obliged her terms.

"We will divide into three groups." Heilsing announced. "Hagrid and Kettleburn both know the geography of the woods and the creatures inhabiting them so they shall each lead their own party through. You two will be responsible for finding Peter Pettigrew before some bad fate befalls him. I will take up the remaining third with me after Mr. Lupin and this will not be an effort of the faint or cruel of heart."

Heilsing turned to Snape abruptly

"You did a pretty good job of binding Black up with Potter. You feel up to a stroll in the woods, Snape?" Heilsing offered. "Might be an excellent learning experience for you."

Snape couldn't restrain himself from blinking a bit at this invitation. Although she was the Head of his House, Heilsing had never seemed particularly fond of the Slytherins in general. Unlike McGonagall's expectations and refusal to show favoritism to the Gryffindors, Heilsing almost searched for reasons to punish her students for. Her House was fairly mutinous, as well; quick to undermine her word when they could afford it and discontent with her constant prying.

Snape wasn't entirely sure what Heilsing was playing at since she had never expressed anything aside from general dislike and suspicion of him in the past, yet she had trusted him enough to make him Prefect and she was willing to trust him more with tracking down a werewolf.

"Absolutely." Snape consented eagerly after a moment of pause and moved to join the rest of the party.

"I'm going too." Sirius joined in. "This is my fault and he's my friend."

"I think your sense of loyalty would be better served explaining how you attacked your Prefect and endangered people you consider friends. Not to mention myself." Snape glared with hatred at Sirius.

Dumbledore cast a disapproving look at Professor Heilsing.

"I think the students have had enough excitement, Vigilia. I will leave this matter to you and your colleagues while I take our students inside to discuss what has happened." Professor Dumbledore soothed, before glancing at Snape. "The three of us."

"Yes, Headmaster." Vigilia relented as Snape and Sirius followed the elderly wizard into the castle as she and the other Professors made their way towards the woods.

As Madam Pomfrey tended to Lily, James followed Professor McGonagall to her office to explain everything that had happened and divulged anything he suspected as well. Professor McGonagall seemed more than shocked by James's behavior that night, but he caught a small hint of admiration in her eyes that he didn't feel he deserved in the remotest sense. After finishing what he knew to be true, James told her his suspicions that Sirius had anticipated Snape to make his way to the Shrieking Shack and would have done so without his intervention.

"James." McGonagall's green eyes peered over her square glasses at him, her lips tightly pressed. "This is a very serious accusation, particularly of a friend. Do you realize that you are implying Sirius Black may have knowingly lured Mr. Snape to a werewolf during a full moon in spite of the obvious danger?"

"I know." James couldn't look at Professor McGonagall at the moment. "Like I said, I'm not certain. I'm not saying this is an excuse, but, in Sirius's defense, I don't think he'd really have meant for Snape to get hurt if he was responsible. He's thoughtless like that sometimes."

"Yes, he is." McGonagall admitted with a sigh. She sadly shook her head, as she thought of Sirius Black. "Thank you, James. I'll probably want to speak with you later and I'm certain Professor Dumbledore will wish to hear your perspective on all this. I think it would be best for you to head back to the dorms for the evening."

Professor McGonagall rose from her chair; James imitated her action as she prepared to see him out before she went to find the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

James hesitated.

"If I could." James began awkwardly. "I know I don't have much of a right to ask for favors after everything I've done tonight, but could I return to the Hospital Wing?"

"I very much doubt Madam Pomfrey will be happy with you disturbing her patient after the care she invested in mending her." McGonagall said dismissively. "Your Prefect will pull through, Mr. Potter."

"I'm not worried about my Prefect." James countered bluntly.

She was about the question this, when she noticed the slight blush on James's cheeks. He adverted his eyes only briefly before locking them back onto her own. It became clear to Professor McGonagall what James was saying and this gave her a small amount of joy despite all the tragedy that had occurred that evening.

McGonagall studied James with a soft expression she reserved only for special occasions. James was coated in mud with dried scrapes covering him all over with a worn stance and worried look. Although she had never seen James Potter appear more disheveled than he did at that moment, she marveled at how resilient and strong he had remained in a situation that would have broken a lesser man twice his age. The resolved glint to James's eyes showed McGonagall that although he had broken enough school already that evening than most students would in their entire education at Hogwarts; he was entirely prepared to break a few more if she denied his request to stay with someone he had risked so much to protect.

"This is a Gryffindor." Minerva McGonagall thought proudly.

"I suppose it would be prudent to have your own injuries tended to." Professor McGonagall gave a small smile. "Tell Madam Pomfrey I would prefer you remain in the Hospital Wing until I or Professor Dumbledore come to reclaim you."

"Thank you." James managed out quietly as he left her presence for the Hospital Wing.

In the Headmaster's office, Severus Snape and Sirius Black sat before Professor Dumbledore's desk as he poured them each a hot cup of tea. They glared at each other, not caring if their Headmaster noticed or not.

"Sirius." Dumbledore interrupted the staring contest. "I expect Professor McGonagall will be along shortly. I would like you to go with her and explain, from you perspective, what has transpired here this evening and all the events that may have led to it. I shall discuss the same with you, Severus."

"Yes, Sir." Sirius and Snape both agreed softly.

Professor McGonagall strode in promptly. Professor Dumbledore greeted her with an acknowledging smile even with the circumstances being what they were. She placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder.

"Come with me, Mr. Black." McGonagall said firmly. Sirius appeared petrified.

"You are welcome to take your tea with you." Dumbledore informed. Sirius could only dumbly nod in response as he followed the Head of his house away. Reverting his attentions back on his remaining student, Dumbledore folded his hands while staring intently at Snape.

"Where would you like me to start, Professor?" Snape inquired respectfully.

"I've always been fond of beginnings, Severus." Dumbledore smiled. Snape offered a quizzical look.

"Of this evening?" Snape wasn't entirely sure what the Headmaster was implying.

"Where ever you feel the beginning is, Severus." Dumbledore encouraged. "It is, after all, your story I am about to listen to."

Snape nodded.

"Then, I suppose, we should start with my impressions of Black and his friends."

Sitting in the Hospital Wing, James allowed Madam Pomfrey to fuss over him as she cleaned him up and applied medical potions to his injuries.

"I swear I can't go a solid day without at least one Gryffindor in need of my care." Pomfrey chided. "Have the lot of you no eyes? It's a nightmare out there and you four just are strolling about through snow drifts in completely inadequate attire."

"We had our cloaks and scarves." James stated.

"Oh, tell that to Miss Evans who's lucky I didn't have to regrow the tips of her fingers and toes!" Pomfrey shook her head. "Cloaks and scarves! Hmph! It's colder than the dark side of the moon out there, Potter! I'll be treating half the faculty and your other friends, once they're, found in the morning."

"If they're found." James muttered gravely.

"ONCE they're found." Madam Pomfrey repeated gently. She applied the last of her bandages on James. "Now, unless you want me to check your hearing, scoot!"

Smoothing out her medical robes, Pomfrey began to clean up the area to keep her wing sanitary.

"I'll be giving Miss Evans a mild sleeping potion shortly. Poor girl's worn to the bone." Madam Pomfrey informed. "You can have a bit to talk with her, but if I catch you agitating her – "

"I'll be a gentleman." James interrupted, throwing out a smile.

"Save it for Miss Evans, Potter." Pomfrey smirked as she left.

"I'll be needing more than a smile." James muttered to himself as he walked over to the opposite end of the Hospital Wing. Lily was resting in her bed, bandages covering the frostbitten parts until the potion set in. She appeared to be dozing and James didn't have the heart to wake her if she was getting some sleep. Pulling a chair to him, the legs scrapped along the stone floor causing James to cringe and Lily to stir. She glanced at James.

"I'm sorry I hit and yelled at you." Lily apologized in a weak pitch.

"No, don't be! In fact, you shouldn't have let me off so light." James had no idea that the hell to say. "Anyway, never mind about me. Are you feeling alright?"

"Sore and numb all at once." Lily informed. "I can't seem to get warm either."

James turned his head about until he spotted some spare blankets and brought them over. He began unfolding them and adjusting them over Lily, tucking her in a bit more.

"Do you want me to start groveling now or when you're feeling good enough to fully appreciate it?" James had meant it to come out lightly as a joke but his voice broke a bit over the words.

"I'd like you to explain what happened tonight." Lily requested. "Like you promised you would."

"Okay." James retook his seat and explained Remus's condition, what had happened between him and Snape that night while looking for her, and what part he suspected Sirius to play in the incidents of that night.

Lily took this all amazingly well. James guessed it was because she was tired and wouldn't be able to full appreciate how bizarre it was at just that moment.

"I had no idea about Remus. Poor boy, as if he doesn't have enough troubles without putting up with all this tonight." Lily said sympathetically. "I hope he's alright."

"He can take care of himself. I've had the bumps to prove it." James assured.

"You've been around Remus when he was a werewolf? How?" Lily's eyes were wide at this.

"I – " James stopped, afraid someone might overhear him. "I WILL explain that. Can I just hold off until I don't have to worry about the wrong ears hearing?"

"That's fine." Lily agreed.

"What happened with you and Sirius before we found you? I mean, why did he hex you?" James questioned, that had been bothering him ever since they had found the two of them outside.

Lily described what had happened from her end that evening to James, with Sirius cursing her serving as the climax. James groaned at his friends behavior and was amazed Lily was still willing to talk with him anymore after all this

"I'm going kill Sirius." James decided dispassionately.

"I think you'd best serve him by being a friend." Lily advised. "Sirius is going to have enough people angry with him; he'll need someone to be supportive."

"Even after what he did to you?" James was astounded at how forgiving Lily was being.

"I'm not HAPPY about that anymore than being left in a closet, but like you he meant well in his own way." Lily sighed. "He was under a lot of pressure and it's not like Sirius enjoyed hexing me."

"Yeah, well, I don't know how to feel if it turns out he was trying to do what I suspect." James removed his glasses to rub his eyes. "It was just stupid, even by Sirius standards. I just think about how awful it all could be right now and I'm right back at wanting to kill him."

James felt Lily place a hand on his knee. He put one of his own on top of it, careful not to apply any pressure to a bandaged area.

"I know." Lily replied in an understanding tone. "I can't tell you to forgive him, but you have to ask yourself if a mistake, even one of this magnitude, is worth trading in every last thing Sirius has done for you as a friend these past six years."

Reflecting on the countless good times and phenomenal support Sirius had generously provided before and after the deaths of all his living relatives, James saw what Lily was getting at.

"You're right." James nodded. "I'll stand by Sirius through this, but it's going to be hard. There's Remus to consider. I don't want him to take it as me condoning Sirius's behavior and I imagine he's going to be beyond furious with Sirius."

"Do you think they'll ever set things right again?" She asked sadly.

"I hope so." He did.

"Do you think Sirius will be expelled?" She sounded even sadder.

"I hope not." He really did.

They sat in silence for a minute. Remembering everything that had happened as though it were just a story they had heard and hadn't actually endured any part of it. But the hollow feeling in both Lily and James about the people they knew and the uncertain futures before them left a sting to remind them of how real it had all been and would be with the beginning of the New Year. The most James had wanted do to on the cusp of 1976 and '77 was ask Lily to be his girlfriend and have everything be perfect.

This was so far past perfect James was ill.

Still, even all bandaged. Even though she had slapped him. Even though she had almost gotten herself killed. Even though he had spent almost every moment of that night frightened for her, James was never more convinced of how much he wanted to be with her. Of how much he needed to be with her. Although he had never undervalued Lily Evans significance in his life, James completely reaffirmed this at the possibility he had faced with her not being a part of it.

Running his free hand through his hair, James stared at Lily as he drew his chair closer to her bedside.

"Tonight, I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend." James confessed. "I had been agonizing since Christmas on how to do a brilliant job of it. I thought I had it tonight before it came completely undone right in front of me with me completely helpless to prevent all that. I was going to tell you that I cared about, wanted to protect you, trusted you with everything in my life including my life itself. That I needed you, couldn't imagine being without you, would be frantic without you and inconsolable if I lost you. That I would risk my very life for yours if it was called for." James went on, barely listening to himself as he spoke completely from his heart. "And I wanted it all to be memorable when you found this out."

James took a deep breath as he touched Lily's face.

"This night's been Hell, Lily, and even though I couldn't make the beginning perfect for you, I'd still like you to be with me anyway." James whispered.

"You were going to tell me all this in the attic?" Lily smiled.

"Yeah." James smiled back. "I would have meant it, too."

"You're right. This night's been Hell." Lily fought back a few tears. "But I'm glad I went through it with you."

"Why?" James stoked her cheek.

"Because, you could have told me all that, about how you felt and I would never have known if you truly meant it." Lily explained. "Tonight, you proved every last word of it and so much more aside from that. How can I even think of doubting you?"

She briefly recalled her last conversation with Snape and the life he describe James of leading.

"I saw the man you are tonight, James. And the man you're going to someday be. And that's the kind of man I want to be with. That's the kind of man I want to fall in love with." Lily admitted; James felt his heart skip a beat.

"If I can't fall in love with someone like you James, who could I love?"

James didn't want to think of an answer.

James only kissed Lily, feeling excited, stunned, and at peace all at once. He knew she felt the same.

You just sort of know these things about the people to value sometimes.

Catching Madam Pomfrey coming over to settle Lily to sleep, James reluctantly stood up and remembered something. Reaching into his robes, he returned the letter he had taken from her that evening.

"I should give this back to you." James smiled as he passed onto the nightstand next to her. He paused before asking a cautious question he didn't know if he would regret. "In the letter, Snape mentioned he upset you. What happened with you and Snape at the lake?"

Lily seemed to think about this before she smiled.

"Just my realizing I'd follow you into Hell on a moth's wings if I needed to."

Speaking with James Potter first had helped to brace Minerva McGonagall for Sirius Black's account of that night's events but to actually hear the seventeen year old boy confirm everything his best friend had suspected?

Who could ever be fully prepared for that?

"Then you intentionally enticed Mr. Snape into following you out to the Shrieking Shack, aware that Remus would have fully completed his transformation as a werewolf by this point?" Professor McGonagall asked rhetorically, staring in disbelief at Sirius from across her desk. "Mr. Black, what were you thinking? No, a better question is were you EVEN thinking?"

Sirius's eyes darted back and forth slightly, as though he expected someone to help provide the answers to her questions.

It was strange for McGonagall to see Sirius like this. In all her prior interventions, lectures, and detentions with Sirius, he was always quick to provide a whimsical excuse or entertaining rationalization for whatever she had called him form. He'd throw out a broad smile and pour on the charm to try and talk himself and at times his friends out of whatever bit of trouble their mischief had landed them in. Professor McGonagall doubted that Sirius ever truly believed such tactics would win her over, but it was simply his way in dealing with everyone and he wouldn't quite be Sirius Black if he wasn't the same with her.

This was not that boy before her.

McGonagall could barely recognize him as Sirius Black.

Sirius was nervous and silent. When he spoke it was barely audible. No jokes were woven in his tale or smiles to brighten his words. He attempted to tell his version of that night's events as though he were giving an oral presentation, but his voice betrayed him several times, such as when Remus had broken loose or he felt he was compelled to render Lily Evans unconscious for her own safety. Unlike every other instance she had asked for Sirius to explain his actions, Sirius's didn't have that small hint of amusement or pride in his pitch when he recited them for her now.

Professor McGonagall was deeply grateful for this.

"I – " Sirius managed out, head hanging. "I thought it would be funny when I did it, you know? I was just sick of Snape always lurking about like some arrogant git, I wanted to make him back off a bit. I figured one really good scare might make him think it wasn't worth harassing the lot of us anymore."

"And nothing short of a frenzied werewolf would have accomplished this?" McGonagall harped.

"It was the first idea that came to mind." Sirius turned his eyes back up to McGonagall as he spoke. "It seemed like the best one as dumb as it sounds now. I thought I could keep a handle on Remus, no big deal. Snape gets a scare; we get a laugh, business as usual the next day. I know you're not going to believe me when I say this, but I didn't think anything bad would happen. I didn't think."

"You most certainly did not." McGonagall agreed. "Sirius, you will never know how fortunate you were this evening in spite of your taunting of fate, but I will try to place a scope on all this for you to attempt to grasp. Severus Snape could have been bitten, doomed to share poor Remus's dreadful condition. He could have very well been killed. For that matter so could have Miss Evans and Mr. Potter. You may have no love of Mr. Snape but I know how close you are with Lily and James."

Professor McGonagall felt the weight of this possibility touch her and felt a distraught expression form as its mark.

"Sirius, could you even imagine living on with the deaths of Lily and James on your conscience? To know that if you hadn't indulged a severe lapse in judgment that they would still be alive? Could you shoulder the guilt of knowing two of your friends were no longer alive because of a choice you made?"

"No." Sirius appeared as though he was going to cry over that prospect.

"Well thankfully you will never have to know such regret, Mr. Black." The Deputy Headmistress nodded, glad he understood. She took no joy in pushing her Gryffindor students to the verge of tears but it was imperative Sirius not treat the matter lightly because no one happened to be hurt worse than they were.

Sirius straightened up a bit, wide-eyed with his lip quivering slightly.

"So, when do I go home?" Sirius asked. "I mean, can I stay long enough to apologize to everyone?"

"You mean, before you're expelled?" McGonagall studied Sirius for volunteering such a notion.

"Yes Ma'am." Sirius nodded.

Professor McGonagall sighed as she leaned over her desk, putting her closer with Sirius.

"While your gross negligence placed many students in danger tonight, I do not feel your lack of foresight does warrant your expulsion from Hogwarts and that will be my recommendation to Professor Dumbledore when I speak with him." Professor McGonagall was stern as she spoke, but Sirius felt that she was almost as relieved to say it as he was to hear it.

"I believe that you are completely sincere in your claims that you had no intention of bringing anyone to harm this evening, although this in NO WAY excuses your behavior." McGonagall went on. "My basis for this assessment stems from the fact so many people you care about may have had their lives ruined or ended as a result of your poor decision making. Your concern and remorse also speak greatly in your defense, Mr. Black. If I had even the most remote of suspicions that you had acted against Mr. Snape with more malice than that of an ill-conceived prank I wouldn't hesitate in breaking your wand myself!"

"Yes Ma'am." Sirius stupidly repeated before going back to being silent.

"Though not nearly as severe as what you suggested for a punishment for your conduct, there will be repercussions." Professor McGonagall informed.

"Absolutely." Sirius replied eagerly as he waited for her to go on.

"Your parents will, of course, be notified."

Sirius cringed, but nodded.

"As well as all those of the other students involved."

More nodding.

"And most likely the Ministry of Magic if Professor Dumbledore feels it is necessary. While I doubt he would like to make a public spectacle out of this already delicate situation, our Headmaster might be aware of procedures to be followed that I am not. And that is not even considering whether any or all of the parents involved care to purse such a measure themselves."

A look of horror washed over Sirius's face, but he didn't bother to plead or argue verbally.

"You are expected to apologize, formally and sincerely to everyone who could have been a victim of your prank along with all the faculty you have inconvenienced and worried in attempting to locate Remus and Peter."

"Okay."

"In particular, I expect your apology to Severus Snape to be very heartfelt since he was the target of all this."

Professor McGonagall noticed Sirius slightly glower over this stipulation, but consented with another nod.

"I'd also recommend you make a serious effort for amends with Remus Lupin considering you not only exploited him, but could have left him and his secret vulnerable to the entire Wizarding World if anyone had been harmed by him. Why, Remus might have possibly ended up in Azkaban for all this misery and nonsense."

Sirius was horrified again. He hadn't even considered that Remus could have been held account able for what he had done. Sirius felt himself begin to shake his head, as though it would make such an outcome less true.

"You will not be attending any Hogsmeade trips or school functions for the remainder of the year, I'm debating whether or not I'll even allow you to attend Quidditch matches, and neither of us can fathom the amount of detentions and extracurricular assignments this has amassed for you."

Sirius sighed and nodded. He was going to have a really dull remaining 6th Year but he deserved no less.

"And this I cannot stress enough, if you do anything, anything at all to mirror the magnitude of this fiasco, Mr. Black, I very much doubt that there will be many other second chances allotted to you."

"So no more practical jokes, huh?" Sirius hoped he could stick to this.

"Of the felonious sort, yes." Professor McGonagall cracked a smile for the first time that nigh with hint. "However; for those offenses that fall somewhere short, well, I suppose it would be unreasonable to ask you to suddenly stop being Sirius Black."

"Thanks." Sirius smiled appreciatively and felt privileged to have a Head of House who understood her student as Professor McGonagall did. She slid over a quill, inkwell, and sections of parchment to Sirius.

"I'd like you to begin your letters of apology now, Sirius, while I speak with Professor Dumbledore about what you have told me and how I believe we would best handle the situation. I will return and inform you of what is decided." McGonagall gestured to the stationary. "In the meantime, I recommend you begin with either Mr. Snape or Mr. Lupin."

Leaving him alone in her office, Sirius stared at the blank parchment, waiting for his apology to Remus to come to him. Although it had never been his strength, Sirius acknowledged how important it was that he composed something, anything to make sense of his actions and hopefully prompt Remus to forgive him someday.

It occurred to Sirius that Remus didn't even know about any of this yet technically. Sirius frowned to himself.

"Why am I such a jackass?" Sirius asked aloud.

"I've been asking myself that for years." James's voice carried across the room as he entered.

"James!" Sirius spun around, uncertain of how to address his friend. "I'm, oh God, is Lily okay?"

"Yeah. I left her to get some rest. I plan on going back there for the night but I wanted to see about you." James nodded.

This felt awkward.

"So on a scale of 1 to 10, how furious are you with me?" Sirius inquired quietly.

"I think I'm around 47." James informed.

"Oh."

"But I still consider you my mate. My stupid, thoughtless mate who owes our other mate the apology of a lifetime." James added. "You sore with me for tipping off McGonagall about how, well, how you meant to do all this?"

"I was going to admit to it anyway, so no." Sirius shook his head. "If anything, you probably cushioned the blow a bit so she didn't walk around and strangle me for all this mess. I'm sorry, James."

"I think you should save most of that for Lily, Remus, and Snape." James advised.

Sirius rolled his eyes a bit before sighing.

"Yeah, well Snape can bugger off as far as I'm concerned." Sirius muttered. James cast a shocked look at him.

"Sirius, I know you wanted Snape out there but did you really mean to hurt Snape?" James had to know.

"No!" Sirius protested. "I don't want the pasty faced wanker killed off, but that doesn't mean I feel particularly remorseful towards him either. Just because he had a close brush doesn't give me the big warm and fuzzy for the Slytherin."

"You could have killed him tonight Sirius." James spoke cautiously.

"I – I know." Sirius shook a bit. "I'm not proud of that. I plan on apologizing and whatnot to him. I plan on making it sound good too. I just don't know if I can feel sorry about putting him out."

James didn't know how to feel about Sirius's bitterness. Although he, by no means, had any fondness of Severus Snape, James had been concerned when he thought he might have been hurt. But had he really been concerned about Snape, or was he worried what might happen to Sirius or Remus if something had happened?

James didn't like talking with Sirius at the moment, it was making him think things about himself he really wasn't comfortable with.

"Well, I'm going to leave you to start your letters." Was all James could say. "I'll see you later then."

"I'm still sorry, James." Sirius called after him.

James hoped Sirius was.

Albus Dumbledore had listened patiently and without interruption as Severus Snape explained what had transpired from his very distinct point of view. Severus's angry feelings expressed through a detached monotone required Dumbledore to read between the lines of the tale in order to discern what had happened that night. An intelligent young man who was both eccentric and emotionally complicated, Professor Dumbledore silently debated how to best appease his wronged pupil without reinforcing his already unique slant on things.

"If you were in my position, Severus." Dumbledore began with interest. "How would you remedy this situation?"

"I would expel Black." His eyes bore directly into the Headmaster's as he gave his reply. "I would see his performance tonight as only a taste of what he will be capable of later. Imagine how dangerous a person like Black could be as a fully accredited Wizard? I wouldn't risk it."

"An understandable recommendation if Sirius Black is the, how did you describe it before? 'A sociopathic degenerate who poisons the very nature of magic by being a part of it'?" Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. He watched Severus's eyes narrow.

"Are you implying I'm being dramatic in my portrayal of events, Professor?" It could have been a challenge by the way Severus had said that sentence. Dumbledore dismissed this as a young man worn from a stressful evening.

"Not at all. I can completely understand how your perspective had represented the events of this evening as such. Your association with Mr. Black has always been a particularly colorful one and the bad blood flowing between you two has most certainly appeared to come to a head this evening. However, I must say Severus, if I know Sirius Black as well as I believe I know you, I do not think he is capable of the deliberate cruelty you would credit him with." Dumbledore confessed.

"I'm assuming then Black will not be expelled then?" The look in Severus's eyes was traitorous.

"No. I do not believe he will be unless Professor McGonagall will be providing some significant insight that would merit such a drastic course of action." Professor Dumbledore agreed. "I have yet to expel a single student since my appointment of Headmaster at Hogwarts and I would very much wish to keep my record as such."

Severus rose abruptly.

"I would like to be excused if it is all the same to you, Sir." Venom poured over his words. Professor Dumbledore gestured for him to sit once more.

"Actually, I would very much like to talk with you further Severus." Professor Dumbledore smiled kindly. "I think we should discuss Remus Lupin for a few moments."

Snape said nothing as he reclaimed his seat.

"I'm aware of your impressions of Mr. Black; however, I'd like to know what you think of Mr. Lupin." Dumbledore inquired.

"I find him to be possibly the least obnoxious of Potter's group, but, in all fairness, that says very little considering they are the most obnoxious cabal of Wizards ever assembled." Severus reported candidly. "Though, I must admit, he has certainly managed to set himself apart from the group now in my mind."

Professor Dumbledore locked eyes with Severus. It was not a threatening glint in his eyes, only a resolute one.

"I must ask your discretion in regards to Remus's condition, Severus. Precluding members of the faculty and only those he wishes to divulge such knowledge to, no one must know that Mr. Lupin is a werewolf. I understand how resentful you undoubtedly and justifiably feel about this situation; however, I must request you bear in mind that this was not Remus's doing nor would it be fair to exact any retribution through him by exploiting his unfortunate secret." Dumbledore stated firmly.

"And if, as a Prefect, I felt that the student population had the right to know if something, I apologize, someONE that dangerous was in their midst?" Severus raised an eyebrow in a taunting manner.

What was it about youth that invited such rebellious behavior? Dumbledore had always found this tendency to be both refreshing and trying in his long association with developing witches and wizards.

"Then, as the Headmaster, I would be most disappointed." Dumbledore's expression showed this would be only the introduction of other, less pleasant reactions to follow.

"Very well, Lupin can keep his secret." Severus relented. "However don't ask me to attempt to form any long lasting bonds with either him or his friends. I have little room in my life for a rabble of self-absorbed delinquents."

"While I can understand your wariness of Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin, I must admit that I am surprised you still consider James Potter to be your rival, outside of an academic setting." Dumbledore marveled somewhat to himself.

"Very little has occurred in this evening to change my previous impressions of Potter." Severus informed. "If anything, I would say he has only reinforced everything I had already presumed him to be."

Dumbledore settled back into his chair with a pensive expression before turning to Severus.

"One perspective to look at this from, Severus, is that James Potter saved your life." Professor Dumbledore mused.

"What?" Severus spat the word out.

"If James hadn't possessed the foresight and maturity he had, why, I fear the situation would have been far worse that what we are presently facing." Dumbledore shook his head. "James literally sided against the judgment and actions of his closest friend to come to the defense of his long time adversary. Whatever your opinion of James Potter may be, he might have saved several lives this evening from being irreparably altered."

"I can't believe your describing him as some – some noble hero for all this!" Severus tone flared against the praise of his competitor. His usually aloof composure faltered.

"And how would you describe the situation?" Dumbledore inquired with interest.

"The most credit to James Potter's character I can allow is his knack for self-preservation." Severus sneered. "He knew he would be facing just as much trouble as his friends if he turned a blind eye to Black's destructiveness. Potter's concern was expulsion or jail, not me. He saved his own skin as much with his supposed 'gallantry' as mine."

Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked around so he could place a hand over Severus's shoulder. He didn't appear entirely comfortable with the idea of being touched, even in a reassuring manner. Dumbledore suspected such a gesture had been long absent from the boy's life, if it had ever been present at all.

"You are angry now, Severus, and with a certain amount of privilege to be such." Dumbledore spoke in an understanding tone. "Once the shock of the evening has left you, I'd strongly recommend you reflect with a rational mind upon what has happened and let that shape the person you will become from it. Perhaps you will still feel you have no reason to be obliged to James Potter, perhaps not. The most I can request is you not allow your decision to be made this very instant."

"I will attempt what you ask." Severus promised vaguely.

"That's good." Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "Acceptance and forgiveness are rare gifts to give, Severus. You may find, sometime in your own future that you will be in a situation not unlike our young Mr. Black or Mr. Potter. Perhaps a little good karma would be prudent to acquire?"

"May I leave to check on Evans?" Severus deflected softly. "I wish to see how she's fairing since Potter was the one to bring her to the Hospital Wing."

"I'm sorry, of course." Dumbledore permitted. "If she happens to be awake, please give her my warmest wishes for a fast recovery. I fear it may be while before I will be allowed to deliver them myself."

"Certainly." Severus nodded one as he left the office.

Returning to his desk, Professor Dumbledore wished to start sending out Owls to the parents of the children involved but he had to first wait until Remus and Peter were safely back within the castle walls. Recognizing he might not be able to deliver his messages until the first hours of morning, Albus Dumbledore did think of someone he could write to.

Beginning the first of many letters he would be expected compose, Professor Dumbledore thought of the defensive Severus Snape as he wrote to someone whom he hoped would accept his invitation to help mend the situation still unraveling itself before he would have to meet with several anxious and angry parents.

Professor Dumbledore could only hope she would be able to spare a day or two on behalf of Sirius Black and Severus Snape.

The torches burned low in the Hospital wing when Severus Snape arrived. After a brief and irritating exchange with Madam Pomfrey, she reluctantly admitted him since he had Professor Dumbledore's approval.

"Go on ahead, though I doubt you'll get much out of the visit." Madam Pomfrey warned as she waved him past. "I gave her a tonic to help her rest only a few minutes ago so she's probably fast asleep. Try not to disturb her and make sure that Potter does the same if he's so adamant about perching himself by her bedside for the remainder of the night."

Snape said nothing as he made his way to the other end of the Hospital Wing. Sure enough, Lily Evans appeared to be peacefully sleeping with Potter watching her with a mixed expression of fondness and concern as he held her hand.

"I would have imagined you would have had your fill of watching Evans sleep." Snape commented loftily. Potter jumped slightly, Snape wasn't sure if this was because he had startled him or touched a nerve. He appeared to be slightly flustered by this comment and was acting guilty, even for Potter. "Must not have the same flavor, what with her being aware that you are staring at her."

Potter sighed and glanced unappreciatively towards him.

"Did you come here to check up on Lily or did you want to take a few more shots at me before you decided to turn in?" Potter hissed, looking like he could use some rest himself.

"Can't I do both?" Snape shrugged. He didn't sit down nor did he approach Lily. Potter seemed uncomfortable with his presence there and he had little desire to put Potter at ease.

"Yeah, well if you're planning to really get into it with me, let's step to the other end of the wing, shall we?" Potter replied curtly. "I don't feel like waking her up because you're inclined to be an uncivil prat."

"Perhaps it would be best for us to speak to the side then." Snape consented. "After all, I thought you might like to hear what will be happening with your friends."

Potter stood up, placing Lily's hand gently at her side. He trailed behind Snape as the walked past a few rows of beds.

"I assumed you tried your damnedest to get the lot of us booted out, hm?" Potter guessed.

"As though you deserve anything less." Snape confirmed. "In complete disregard to my protest, it's almost assured that Dumbledore has every intention of making sure you and your company will be around to bother me for our remaining education at Hogwarts."

Potter seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at this, but tried not to lose whatever amount of personal intimidation he assumed himself to possess with Snape. No taller than himself although a little broader across the chest and shoulders from his time with Quidditch, the most daunting thing Snape could recognize in James Potter was his flare for magic. Still, as adept as he was, Potter had proven more or less that evening that he lacked knowledge of more potent magics or was too afraid to use them.

Such ignorance or weakness provided Snape with no concern, though he felt Potter should be more than concerned.

"And what about Remus or Peter, any word?"

"None to my knowledge." Snape informed. "It's very possible they're dead, you know. I wouldn't raise my hopes if I were you."

Potter went chalk white and reacted as though he had been winded. He behaved as though the thought hadn't occurred to him. It was optimistic, if not foolish, to assume that a sub-par wizard like Pettigrew or the enraged Lupin were completely safe amongst the vicious denizens of the Forbidden Forest.

Snape seemed to be the harbinger of obvious bad news lately to the Gryffindor House.

"Don't say that." Potter ordered, straightening up.

"Why? It's an entirely plausible outcome." Snape pressed.

"Maybe, but you're just doing it to be a sadist." Potter bristled.

"Sadist? Let's discuss Black for a moment then." Snape glared taking a step towards Potter. "I think having two of his closest friends suffer as a consequence of his attempt to get at me would be a more than poetic ending to this demented display he took upon himself to orchestrate."

"And I reckon it would be right poetic if I dragged you into the hall and went at you like a rogue Bludger." Potter took a step up to Snape crossing his arms. "I'm more than tired of the nasty comments and disparaging insights you're always so willing to offer up. Specifically about those I considered to be family."

So the child wants to play?

"An important sentiment to you, I'd wager. Pity there aren't a few more Potters to charge to Black's defense. Of course, they all saw fit to recklessly undertake their own uphill battles already, haven't they? So refreshing to know their sole surviving member is selecting his own noble crusades just as wisely." Snape coldly commented, completely rattling what remained of Potter's composure.

"You low-blowing bastard." Potter growled as he prepared to seize Snape by his robed; however, Madam Pomfrey's hurried steps toward the both of them restrained him.

"How considerate of you two to pummel one another right in the Hospital Wing so no one will have to be troubled with dragging you up here!" Pomfrey stated sarcastically. "Once you're done bloodying each other up, have the proper decency to see yourselves into a free bed."

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey." Potter muttered apologetically. Snape said nothing since he didn't feel as though he were responsible.

"Anymore trouble out of the two of you tonight and I won't care if Merlin himself says you can be here! Fair warning." Pomfrey strode off.

Potter glared at Snape and turned to make his way back to Lily. Snape followed along, prompting Potter to comment.

"Okay, you've seen Lily is alright, you've found humor in the possibility that two of my friends are dead so my best friend could regret it until the end of his days with pointing out how I'm an orphan as a showstopper. WHY are you still here, Snape?" Potter demanded.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with leaving Evans alone in your company." Snape explained. Potter's jaw dropped as though this comment were somehow out of line considering the track record he had managed for himself this year alone.

"And you've just called me a rapist once more, thank you very much." Potter ground his teeth.

"Or some other type of violent criminal. I'm not entirely positive of what motivates you, Potter." Snape leaned against the wall, content with his games of agitation. Assuming that it wouldn't be long until Potter did something to get him thrown out or left on his own, Snape could antagonize him as long as necessary.

"Lily would seem to agree with you." Potter noted dryly before he took his place at her bedside once more.

"She was always a generous judge of character." Snape reported.

"Yeah well I would very much doubt she'd agree to be my steady if she was harboring any hesitations about mine." Potter responded, looking at Snape over the frames of his glasses. "No smart retort to that?"

"Don't you have friends to discuss Evans's milestones in self-degradation with?" Snape glowered, uninterested in this conversation.

"You were the one who was just saying they were all too busy being dead or sadistic." Potter mumbled.

"That doesn't explain why you reason I should preoccupy my thoughts with the inconsequential events of your life?" Snape retorted.

"I'm just trying to figure out how much we have in common." Potter glared as Snape in a challenging sort of way. "I don't like cold wars, Snape. If you're looking to win Lily over, have the decency to be a man about it and tell me to my face rather than trying to steal her behind my back. I don't know all the details of your and her relationship or what history you two might have if any, but it's not fair for you to play at being her friend if you're just angling for something else."

"Spare me your alpha-male posturing, Potter." Snape sneered. "It confounds me how someone as arrogant as yourself can be so insecure. If you have inadequacy issues about how committed Evans is in your recently established relationship, I think you're taking them up with the wrong person."

"Look." Potter tried, getting annoyed. "I'm just attempting to figure out how much worse I can expect things to get between us."

"Put your mind at ease." Snape advised. "They can't possibly get worse."

That was when Professor Sprout, the herbology teacher, and Professor Heilsing, the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor entered the Hospital Wing, leading Peter Pettigrew along with them. Madam Pomfrey rushed over and started coaxing the boy into the nearest bed.

"Oh thank goodness, Mr. Pettigrew!" Madam Pomfrey gasped. "My, my, my, you're in the same sorry state Miss Evans managed for herself! Lie down and relax. You'll need some potions applied to all your frostbite. A little Pepper-Up Potion probably wouldn't hurt."

Rising from his seat, Potter sprinted the length of the wing to get closer to his friend.

"You alright, mate?" Potter demanded with sincere worry. "What about Remus?"

"They're fine, Potter. Both of them." Professor Heilsing answered on Pettigrew's behalf. Her intrusive gray eyes darted, taking note of Snape's presences before turning to Madam Pomfrey. "Leave Pettigrew to Professor Sprout's care, Lupin is in need of your expertise more. Ugly gash along the shoulder and whatever he earned for himself before we broke up a rough tussle he was having with a troll playmate."

"You retrieved Mr. Lupin?" Pomfrey sounded impressed, before she hurried to gather her things to tend to Remus.

"Not that he felt the need to make things easy on us, mind you." Professor Heilsing nodded, glancing at Potter. "I brought him down gently as I could, though he's thoroughly stunned and restrained with Hagrid, the Groundskeeper. You can thank him for finding Pettigrew, bumped into him out in the Forest and kept him from wandering into a particularly rough neighborhood of it. We're presently keeping Mr. Lupin in the Care for Magical Creatures stables since we can't risk bringing him into the school until morning so you'll have to go to him, Poppy."

Potter seemed to be in a moment of indecision as he couldn't decide whether Lily, Pettigrew, or Lupin required his presence more. He seemed to come to achieve a verdict when he started to trail behind Madam Pomfrey.

"Keep warm, Peter, I'll go see about Remus." Potter announced. Heilsing put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from running off.

"No. You both are to come with me. There's something we need to discuss with the Headmaster present." Heilsing was grave as she spoke this.

Her eyes glanced to Snape in an accusing sort of manner. Snape knew Heilsing seemed to loath him the most of all her charges, making herself always known by peering over his shoulder or being quick and fierce in correcting any out of turn behavior he engaged in. She maintained the illusion of professionalism, but Snape guessed Heilsing would probably hammer a stake into him if they crossed paths in some dark alley. Still, he had to admit that he was more than a little surprised when she had selected him to be the Slytherin Prefect. Knowing Heilsing, this was less a gesture of respect as it was an attempt to keep his presumably idle hands busy.

Ushering the boys ahead of her, Heilsing herded them to her office, encountering McGonagall along the way.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Heilsing exchanged nods as she passed with James Potter and Severus Snape. Entering the Hospital Wing, McGonagall approached Peter Pettigrew to see how he was fairing. While speaking with Professor Dumbledore, the search party had returned and informed them of the situation. Checking on poor Remus first, McGonagall had only just found her way to see Peter.

"Goodness, Peter!" McGonagall gasped at the sorry sight of the boy. His clothes and blond hair were completely soaked through from the snow. Professor Sprout was presently applying potion and bandages over his cold damaged skin, making tsking sounds all throughout the process and offering encouraging words to the boy.

"Professor McGonagall." Peter greeted quietly, waiting for her to launch into a lecture.

Never being one to disappoint…

"Did none of you aside from Miss Evans have the good sense to alert the faculty as to what was happening? What could have possibly possessed you to chase a werewolf into the Forbidden Forest, Peter? Why there are things in there that I shudder to the thought of encountering and you charge in headlong? You were inconceivably fortunate tonight, Peter, I hope you know. Along with that of your friends, I'm going to recommend dumb luck become a new Gryffindor trait."

"I know." Peter admitted. "But Remus is my friend, even if he was REALLY scary at the moment. How could I just leave him out there alone?"

"It was a hard decision." Professor McGonagall agreed with a sigh. "Still, if ever faced with something similar to it, I'd recommend asking yourself whether Remus would want you to follow after him under such circumstances."

"Yes Professor." Peter nodded.

"Very well then, I believe I shall check to see how Miss Evans is doing. We will discuss this matter when you're fully on the mend." Professor McGonagall nodded as well as she walked over to where Lily was resting. The Head of Gryffindor saw that Lily was sitting up slightly, awake.

"Lily, I would have assumed you would be fast asleep by now." Professor McGonagall confessed slightly surprised.

"I was for a bit." Lily smiled weakly. "When James and Severus started to exchange words, it woke me up."

"I should have suspected as much. I'll have a word with them." McGonagall assured.

"No, that's okay." Lily assured. "It's probably good I was awake to hear their arguing. I can sort of understand why they don't like one another so much. It's as though they bring out the worst when around each other."

"I'm afraid Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape happen to possess two personalities that greatly conflict with one another." The Deputy Headmistress took the seat James had previously been occupying. "They agitate one another and it's not always a deliberate or even conscious act. I had hoped they would out grow this feud and come to recognize that they were both talented and brilliant minds who could contribute and accomplish much with the other's influence, but, well…"

McGonagall trailed off before smiling slightly at Lily, who seemed troubled by all this.

"I wish it were as simple to accept as that, but I find myself so conflicted, Professor." Lily shook her head. "I'm friends with Severus and, um, well,"

"More than friends with James?" McGonagall offered helpfully, causing Lily to blush.

"Yes." Lily verified. "Anyway, it's very hard to be in the middle and not feel compelled to take sides. Like this evening, Severus was particularly harsh to James and said many uncalled for things but I imagine he's fairly upset and shaken by everything that's happened. He always gets odd when he's defensive."

"I've found it to be a rather endearing testament of your character, Lily that you have coped with Mr. Snape's rather challenging disposition in order to maintain a friendship with him." McGonagall said approvingly. "I will also attest to you providing a beneficial influence upon him. From a distance, Mr. Snape appears to be making more of an effort socially than he probably would have without you beside him."

"I'd like to be content with all this but there's just such a darkness in Severus that I sense, Professor." Lily continues helplessly. "I don't know if I will always be able to remain neutral in my feeling about his and James's rivalry and I'm concerned that will eventually tear down any rapport I have with him currently. I don't want any happiness I find with James will be at the expense of the friendship I've built with Severus. And if you think my associating with him has had positive effects, what if Severus becomes someone wicked because of what I'm doing now?"

"You cannot choose Mr. Snape's path any more than he can choose your own." McGonagall reminded in a stern tone before it softened slightly. "Although extraordinarily temperamental, that does not mean Severus is an evil man at heart. It is only when we give up on people that they have an excuse to make poor decisions."

"I've always tried to see the best in Severus. And I have no intention of pushing him away, even if I am going with James now." Lily insisted, causing McGonagall to smile.

"Oh, don't misunderstand me, Lily." Professor McGonagall corrected. "You are more than aware of the good in Severus that others overlook. I am certain of this because I believe you are only capable of viewing the excellence in others, no matter how deeply hidden it may be. This was one of the reasons I chose you as a House Prefect and I would be very surprised if someone as astute as Severus were oblivious of such a thing."

"So you don't think everything between Severus and I will be lost?" Lily asked hopefully.

"I very much doubt the compassion you have shown to Severus Snape will be easily forgotten or lightly repaid." McGonagall assured gently. "Even the smallest acts of kindness leave an impression upon our hearts; whether or not we are aware of such. That is why no generosity is ever performed in vain, Miss Evans. I think our James Potter may have proved this very point tonight."

"I could have done without him locking me in a closet to do it." Lily frowned but her tone showed she was proud of James.

"I don't find that to be a completely unreasonable sentiment." Professor McGonagall agreed, smiling again. "I trust you won't let Mr. Potter off lightly for his usual offenses simply because you are now attached."

"Oh, I imagine it would significantly dampen his fun if I did." Lily grinned.

James and Snape sat in silence in the office their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as they waited for the Headmaster to join them.

Professor Heilsing obviously had something on the tip of her tongue but had refused to mention it and James certainly didn't want to be the one to push her into it. She busied herself at her desk while James noted all the interesting items and photographs decorating the walls. Snape sat rigid, staring at the Head of his House. James wasn't entirely certain if he had seen Snape blink once while doing this. After five solid minutes, Heilsing appeared to either notice or finally decide to comment on Snape's behavior.

"Is there any particular reason you're staring at me, Mr. Snape?" She asked pointedly.

"Is there any particular reason I shouldn't, Professor?" Snape questioned. "I don't believe it's a violation of any school rules to look at the faculty."

James suspected this was a game of Snape with Heilsing, since he was always doing this sort of thing in her class. Making himself obnoxious or offensive without necessarily doing anything in specific to get a rise out of her. If she snapped at him for it, then James assumed Snape found satisfaction in knowing he could agitate a distinguished defender of the public who had faced some of the most vile manifestations of darkness.

Slytherins and their damn mind games.

"No but it certainly contradicts with a few social norms." Heilsing informed.

"I've never held such things in much regard. I find them to be too fickle to bother keeping up with." Snape confided.

"One point from Slytherin, Snape." Heilsing announced. "For the record, no one cares for a smartass."

"You seem to like Potter well enough." Snape observed.

"I assure you that has little to do with Mr. Potter's sense of humor." Heilsing noted. James didn't like being talked about as though he weren't standing with them.

Debating whether he should interject or continue impersonating a suit of armor, James was relieved when Professor Dumbledore entered the office. James, Snape and Heilsing all stood.

"Professor." Heilsing greeted respectfully. James and Snape shared a nod.

"Severus. James." Dumbledore nodded back before turning to Professor Heilsing. "Now, I think it would be best to discuss the matter Professor Heilsing has already brought to my attention." He gave a gesture for her to take the floor. Heilsing turned faced both James and Snape.

"When pursuing Lupin, I discovered the remnants of a dark spell called the Venaticus Insontis; it was how we were able to track him so quickly. It's used to illuminate the blood of an innocent. I'd like to know if either of you know anything about it." Heilsing explained sternly.

"I don't know if I'd necessarily call Lupin an innocent." Snape commented thoughtfully. Heilsing focused her attention exclusively on Snape.

"Is that a confession, Mr. Snape?" Heilsing demanded.

"An observation." Snape clarified.

"Keep them to yourself." Heilsing advised.

James gave Snape a queer look for his taste and timing in playing games with the faculty, before joining the conversation.

"Um, professor." James spoke cautiously. "I was wondering, why this spell is necessarily a dark one if all it does is illuminate a blood trail for someone to be found. I mean, in cases such like this, it's a good thing right?"

"The Venaticus Insontis is dark, I assure you Potter." Heilsing replied. "It can only locate someone who has been subjected to a violence they did not invite or deserve. It's used to find and finish off a victim traditionally. While it may have been helpful in this instance, once you start crossing these kinds of lines it gets harder to see them. Now, is there anything either of you would care to mention."

James and Snape were back to being silent. Heilsing seemed to be studying them over with her gray eyes, as though to root out the guilty party. James noticed she was looking over to Snape much more than she was him. Finally she spoke.

"Well, gentlemen, here's the circumstance as I see it." Heilsing reported. "I'm looking at two of the top students in their Year who are capable of performing this spell and neither seems to have the foggiest idea of how it appeared in the middle of a blizzard in which they were wandering about in. Doesn't this strike you as odd?"

Again silence.

Snape didn't dare look at Potter, but he wondered why Heilsing and Dumbledore's golden boy was contributing nothing to incriminate him. He sincerely doubted that he had bonded enough with Potter to cause him to develop some desire to protect his actions. Guessing that Potter was planning to lord this knowledge over his head later or use it for some purpose presently unseen, Snape watched Heilsing grow irritable.

"Enough of this. Wands out." Professor Heilsing ordered. "We'll see what Prior Incantatem knows."

"Vigilia, I doubt that will be necessary." Dumbledore, who had been silent, interjected. Heilsing didn't look pleased with this.

"Professor – "

"I trust." Professor Dumbledore began as he looked toward James and Snape. "That a respectable student and school Prefect who had spent their evening attempting to save their peers would be forthcoming on their own if they had any information for us. Let us not insult the word of either Mr. Potter or Mr. Snape by investigating their previous incantations."

James felt horribly guilty for abusing Dumbledore's faith in him but he found himself unable to implicate Snape with the curse. Not out of any sense of obligation to Snape himself but that spell had probably led them close enough to Sirius and Lily to find them. If James had known the spell himself, he knew he would have cast it so how could he persecute Snape, in good conscious, for something he was willing to do himself?

Of course, James would have admitted to it if asked by either Heilsing or Dumbledore.

Evidently unwilling to challenge Dumbledore (or in the very least in front of them), Professor Heilsing sighed.

"Fine." She relented. "I suppose I'll speak with the others about this later. You both are excused, unless Professor Dumbledore has something further to say."

Dumbledore smiled at James.

"Give my regards to Lily, Remus, and Peter when you see them next. Have a good evening both of you. Oh, and Happy New Year."

James headed to check on Remus before he became conscious of Snape following him.

"Aren't you sick of riling me up yet?" James glanced over his shoulder.

"Why did you lie?" Snape demanded.

"I didn't. I just omitted things." James corrected quickly

"But for what purpose?" Snape persisted.

"I don't know. I suppose I can't fault you for something I would have done myself." James shrugged before turning to face Snape fully. "I'll keep silent about this but this is the LAST blind eye I turn, Snape."

Snape sized Potter up, trying to decide if he meant what he said. Figuring Potter more or less proved back with Heilsing and Dumbledore that he was good to his word, Snape trusted this would be the last he would hear on the matter from him.

Still, he didn't like feeling indebted to James Potter.

He didn't like Dumbledore being right about this particular matter.

"I suggest you do that." Snape nodded. "You'd make a rather poor Auror otherwise."

That was where James and Snape parted.

Not long after daybreak January 1st Remus was moved to the Hospital Wing where he could be further tended to by Madam Pomfrey. It wasn't bad enough that he was worn and sore, but Remus was also greatly confused and no one was providing many answers for his questions. Lily and Peter were sleeping in beds not far from his with bandages covering them.

Questions.

He had seen James only briefly before Professor McGonagall pulled him to the side to speak about something. Remus hadn't even seen Sirius yet.

More questions.

Remus was at the point where he was seriously giving thought to grabbing someone and shaking them for the answers when Professor Dumbledore arrived. It took only ten minutes to explain what had happened and then the Headmaster left Remus to reflect on all he had just been told. 

It was surreal for Remus to listen to. So many events that he was apart of or that were somehow linked to him that he was completely oblivious of. It was so bizarre. Remus wasn't sure how he would feel about all of it, if he would be able to feel anything until he saw Sirius step into the Hospital Wing, looking tired but mostly worried.

It was then all the emotions hit Remus at once.

"Remus, I – I don't even know where to begin." Sirius stammered as he approached his friend.

"How about by getting the hell away from me?" Remus suggested darkly, causing Sirius to flinch against the words.

"I'd really like to apologize." Sirius tried helplessly.

Remus couldn't even look at him.

Outrage. Betrayal. Guilt.

All of these belonged to Remus.

"Fine, I'll leave then."

Pushing himself out of bed, Remus pulled on a shirt over his bandaged shoulder and other treated injuries. Sirius looked panicked by this as Madam Pomfrey came out.

"What's going on?" She demanded. "Mr. Lupin, back in bed!"

"I'd like to walk about a bit." Remus explained.

"You most certainly will not! You've been walking about a bit all night!" Pomfrey countered.

"Then I'd like to walk around without worrying about mauling someone." Remus snapped, before turning to Sirius. "Or being exploited by my friends for their STUPID, CHILDISH, DANGEROUS STUNTS!"

Lily and Peter were awake now and starting to get out of their beds to investigate and sooth the situation.

"Remus, get back in bed, I'll go!" Sirius backed off in the pleading tone. "I don't want anything more to happen to you than it already – "

"Maybe you should have thought about that before, hm?" Remus hissed. "Oh wait, that would only be asking Sirius Black to do the one thing he can never be bothered with. Thinking before he acts!"

"I deserve that!" Sirius encouraged.

"You deserve A LOT more than that!" Remus informed with a snarl.

"I'll take whatever you want to give, mate." Sirius assured sincerely. "I can't begin to apologize for how I mucked things up and I can't do enough to make up for it, but I'll try!"

"Try. Away. From. Me." Remus instructed as he stormed out in spite of everyone's protests. "I don't want anything to do with you. Not anymore."

Sirius was about to go after him some more before Lily brushed past him, motioning for him to stay.

"I'll try to talk with him. Try to get him back here." Lily stated as Madam Pomfrey nodded reluctantly for her to go on.

Trotting out into the hall, Lily could catch no sight of Remus anywhere. Guessing there must be some passage that she wasn't aware of; Lily grumbled as she traveled the common corridors of Hogwarts Castle and hoped she would eventually run into Remus somewhere along the lines.

Remus knew it probably wasn't a good idea for him to get so worked up or leave the care of Madam Pomfrey but he couldn't help it. He felt completely restless and helpless at the moment and needed to do something he had control over. Even if it was nothing more spectacular than making his way around the school.

Not really paying attention to what routes he was taking, caught up too much in all his other nagging thoughts, Remus found himself in the school dungeons. Deciding against lingering for a Slytherin to find him, Remus glanced around for the most convenient escape route.

"Should you be walking about like this?"

All he found was Severus Snape.

Remus exhaled audibly as he turned to face the Slytherin Prefect. Snape hadn't sound particularly concerned when he had made his comment so Remus wagered he was just donating another of his brilliant insights to the valiant cause of aggravating himself and his friends.

Still, today Remus owed Snape an apology of sorts.

"Listen Snape, I imagine you're right pissed about everything and I really don't blame you." Remus attempted. "I just wanted you to understand that I'm not the type of person I am when I'm, well, that type of person. I thought it would be proper of me to say that I would have no intention of physically hurting you otherwise."

"Get back to bed, Lupin. Before I take off points for you wasting my time with your nonsense." Snape ordered.

"What's nonsense about this?" Remus demanded with a furrowed brow. "I'm beside myself with what might have happened here."

"Oh please." Snape chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure you or any of your playgroup would have been greatly upset if you had bitten or killed me. In fact, I wouldn't put it past Black to even plan on something to the effect. Probably figured you could use some company in your cursed fate."

"I don't pretend to know what Sirius was thinking but that's uncalled for when I'm trying to be a good man about this and set things right for my part." Remus looked away.

"A man? Come now Lupin, we both know what you are at heart." Snape's eyes narrowed. "You're nothing short – "

Remus cut Snape off when he strode straight up to Snape, standing a few inches taller with just as much animosity stored in his brown eyes.

"What were you going to say, Severus?" Remus challenged, using Snape's first name intentionally to be assured he had the Slytherin's attention. "What were you going to say that could POSSIBLY make me feel worse than the knowledge that I could have killed you, Lily, or James last night without even having a choice in it? Without even knowing it? Something about me being an animal? Or a monster?"

Snape saw that Lupin wasn't addressing him with rage, rather frustration and grief over what might have happened. Lupin eyed him. Was it an expectant look? A challenging one? Snape couldn't decide. Either way, Lupin would be disappointed. Although it was unlike Snape to let up once he began one of his verbal assaults, he realized Lupin had an unmistakable point.

What could he possibly say that would be more effective than this boy's tormented soul anymore than it presently was? Lupin was the type to allow his sensitivity to dominate his life.

"So you're going to call me a freak or make some snide comment about the company I hold, you might want to wait on that for a few weeks." Remus finished in a harsh tone that didn't suit his usually calm voice. "I'm afraid it won't even dent the surface of all the other things I have to feel sorry about and I'd absolutely HATE it if you wasted any of your A-material!"

With a disgusted noise, Remus threw one more look over his shoulder before walking off down the opposite hall.

"I should probably warn you though Snape, I've heard a lot worse from a lot better than you over the years."

The thumping of Remus's heavy steps was replaced by softer ones.

"I know you're more than justified in your anger at the moment, Severus, but don't you think Remus is the wrong person to take it all out on?"

"If I feel the need to have someone around to censer my actions or emotions, Evans, I'll be certain to let you know." Snape turned towards Lily with a glare as he saw her standing in a nearby archway. He wondered how long she had been there.

'Long enough' was all he could commit to at the moment.

"For someone who spent the night worry about other people's safety you seemingly couldn't give a damn if you hurt their feelings in the morning." Lily commented sternly.

"Now whoever said I was concerned about Lupin?" Snape demanded in an icy tone.

"Well you should be." Lily informed. "He's concerned about you."

"Have I ever struck you as someone who tends to go along with the crowd?" Was Snape's aloof reply. Lily walked up to him; her entire composure showed she was agitated.

"You never struck me as the ice-hearted bastard you fancy yourself to be either." Lily returned. "You have no idea how upset and angry it makes me to watch you lash out at everyone with little or no provocation."

"Well, perhaps a good cry on Potter's shoulder will make you feel faintly better then?" Snape recommended.

Lily stared at him in silence for a minute before she replied.

"Now I'm asking myself why you would say that to me." Lily's eyes bore into Snape's. "Why did you just bring James into this conversation?"

"Are you about to get obnoxiously black and white on me, Evans?" Snape demanded, showing he had little interest in the discussion if that was her intentions.

"Severus, what about you IS black and white?" Lily questioned. "You wrap yourself in so many layers I don't even know what you think about you at times. And anytime I or anyone else might be getting close to something true you devise a clever new method to shove us all away. It's like you expect everyone to walk out on you in life and you help push them along just so you can have the satisfaction of knowing you were right. Well, Severus, it must get pretty damn lonely being right all the time."

"Are you done now?" Snape asked curtly.

"Severus," Lily groaned. "I haven't even started nor have I finished because I am stuck right in the middle of all this with you. So, no I'm not done, but I'm also can't keep going on discussing this with you. Remus needs someone now. Goodbye."

Lily crossed her arms and followed after Remus, hoping he didn't get to far ahead again. Snape watched her leave. It occurred to him that he hadn't asked her if she was feeling alright. It was easy to neglect such pleasantries when you were busy fighting with someone.

Snape decided a simple "Are you feeling well" wouldn't have been a poor contribution to their conversation.

Under order of McGonagall, James had returned to Gryffindor tower where she insisted he get some rest in spite of his epic level protests. Threatening to relieve him of his duties as Quidditch Captain for an entire month if he disobeyed her, James was tempted to persist but knew it wouldn't be fair to the rest of his team. Reluctantly he made his entrance into the Gryffindor common room.

He found Arabella propped up rather uncomfortably in one of the chairs; she stirred and looked at him before leaping to her feet.

"James!" She breathed. "What's happened? Bill Weasley came running in just after midnight from the Owlry telling everyone about how you had locked Lily in a closet while you and Snape were getting yourselves killed by the Whomping Willow! I was so worried I didn't know what to do."

"Oh he had best be a better Quidditch player than he is a confidant." James groaned.

"It's true then?" Arabella's clear eyes widened. "I almost thought he was spinning tales just so no one question why you and Lily weren't about. What happened then? Are the both of you alright?"

James had no idea what to say to Arabella at the moment. Remus had asked him not to tell her about his condition and, although he wasn't entirely certain if that would still apply after tonight, James didn't want to give away any more of Remus's secrets than Sirius had already accomplished. He had to tell Arabella something.

"Um, Arabella. Please sit down for a minute." James coaxed. Arabella paled.

"Oh god, Lily…" She looked as though she were prone to faint. James grabbed hold of her and led her back to her chair.

"No, Lily's perfectly fine." James assured. "But well, there was this thing that happened last night. I can't get specific because it's pretty serious and I don't know how Dumbledore will be handling it to tell the truth."

"What trouble are you in, James?" Arabella pressed, still concerned.

"Myself, probably not all that much." James sighed. "But the guys lied about being in Hogsmeade last night and Sirius, well he had a really bad idea for a prank on Snape. Remus and I knew nothing about it and I don't know what part Peter played as of yet but, well it looks like big trouble for Sirius. In the very least, Remus and him probably won't be speaking for a bit and Snape will be more foul than ever."

"I don't understand." Arabella shook her head.

"And I can't be any clearer right now." James replied apologetically. "I'm afraid if I say any more it will make things worse between them. Please, understand it's nothing personal."

"Do you reckon Remus will tell me?" Arabella asked.

"I – I can't say." James shook his head. "Depends on what the school will allow him to repeat. His silence might be a condition in keeping this whole thing from getting worse than it is. All our silence for that matter."

"I wouldn't tell a soul." Arabella promised, completely distraught with not knowing what was happening with her friends.

"I know, Love." James nodded. "It's just not my decision."

Arabella started to sob a little and James drew her into a hug.

"Shhh now." James soothed. "Everyone's okay. Sirius and Snape are completely unscathed. Peter and Lily have a couple bumps and bruises along with myself but it will all heal. Remus, he got roughed up a bit. Hurt his shoulder though he'll be completely fine in a week at worst."

Arabella looked up at James with wide, tearing eyes.

"What the HELL kind of prank was this?" Arabella cried.

"A senseless one." James sighed. "Sirius feels horrible about it so try not to hold it against him too much if you can. He never intended for anyone to get hurt in the least. Things might be tense between him and Remus for a while so – "

The portrait swung open and Remus darted into the common room, surprising both Arabella and James. His already narrowed eyes shifted onto James and Arabella holding each other as he approached.

"Do I even have to ask James or should I just start making a list of people whom I shouldn't consider friends on account of acts of betrayal?" Remus demanded half-heartedly. James became conscious of what he was doing and let go of Arabella.

"I was only explaining that you got hurt with Sirius last night. Nothing specific since I didn't know what I should go into detail about yet." James explained in an anxious. "You should be in the Hospital Wing where people can look in on you properly."

"Didn't care for the company there." Remus reported.

"Are you alright?" Arabella inquired softly as she approached Remus. "Are you in any pain?"

"I'm – none that you can help, Arabella." Remus confessed as gently as he could considering he'd been running on undiluted rage for countless hours. "I've just have a long night to get over. I'll talk to you later when I'm up to it. Both of you. I'd hate to say anything I don't mean and I really can't promise otherwise. Oh, and sorry about the accusations when I came in. Of course I trust you both."

Remus patted James on the shoulder with a forced smile and kissed Arabella on her forehead before wiping off a few of her tears. The he retreated up to his room.

"Should I try to talk to him?" Arabella questioned, but James only shook his head.

"Don't talk to him now." James shook his head as he put a reassuring arm around her. "When he's riled like this, the nicest thing you can do is just leave him be. Brooding is his preferred method of coping, gives him a chance to think things out. Remus'll shut himself up somewhere until he's ready to say whatever he's going to. Anything before that, well, he'll say something he won't mean and feel really bad about it later. You're doing him a favor really."

"What should I do then?" Arabella stared at her feet.

"I'd recommend a bit of good sleep or a hearty breakfast." James smiled. "I'm bound for one or the other myself."

"I think I'll go to bed." Arabella decided to herself. "I'll see you later today. Do you think Remus will be in the mood to talk?"

"Let's hope? Pleasant dreams, Arabella." James wished as she left him in the common room.

Lily trailed in not to long after that, finding James resting on the couch in a vain effort to sleep. He sat up and smiled.

"Hey, feeling better?" James asked.

"Fairly. Have you seen Remus? He blew up at Sirius and ran out of the Hospital Wing." Lily leaned against the back of the couch as though she needed its support.

"I'm not at all surprised. He's up in our room; needs some time to think, maybe sleep." James told Lily. "Until he's done doing that, I'm camping out on the couch."

Lily placed a hand on James's cheek, examining the dark circled lining James's eyes and his haggard appearance in general.

"You haven't slept at all, have you?" Lily rhetorically asked.

"I've had a lot on my mind." James justified.

"Come on." Lily led James to her bedroom, walking over to the windows and pulled the drapes shut. "You can't even sleep in your own bed right now with Remus in there as he is and everyone will be running about the common room shortly. Lie down. Get some sleep."

James sighed, completely enticed by this in spite of everything going on around him presently that he should be worrying about or tending to.

"Will you lie with me?" James requested. "I know you've slept some, but, I don't know if I'll be able to relax enough if I'm just here with my own thoughts."

Lily smiled and nodded.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep." She agreed. James smiled back as he took Lily by the hand and led her over to the bed with him.

Settling in, James was slightly depressed that he couldn't hold Lily closer to him if she intended to leave once he had drifted off. That's all he had wanted to do all night. Hold her, kiss her, tell her how important she was to him. The most he could have of that was lying beside her on her bed, looking at her sleepily with his arm brushing against hers.

Even so…

"Having you here like this, it reminds me how spectacular things can be even when everything else really isn't." He confessed softly

"I'm not doing anything particularly grand." She modestly observed.

"That's how I know." He agreed. "How else could explain someone just lying next to you making everything all right?"

"I suppose you're right." Her voice said in the dark.

"No. Just us like this."

He kissed her gently in the dark, just before falling asleep.

AFTERWARDS

So Professor Vigilia Heilsing is the DADA teacher for the J/L era of things according to my crack-pot mind. Naturally, like most things JKR it's a pun since Vigilia means watchful and Heilsing is a derivative of Van Heilsing, the famous vampire hunter and what's that popular speculation about Snape's nocturnal habits? (note: I will not be making Snape a member of the undead legions, he's just sallow)

Venaticus Insontis Hunting the Innocent


	19. Conflicting Interests

Conflicting Interests

By: Oy! Angelina

"Here," Sirius Black thrust the envelope towards Severus Snape in the late hours of the afternoon January 1st. "That's the _formal_ version of the apology. Just in case I forget anything I intend to say now."

The two boys were the only stiff occupants of an empty classroom. Snape wouldn't have come if it hadn't been insisted upon by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Heilsing. He had no desire to hear what Black had to say, but he knew he wouldn't be permitted to leave until he had finished.

"While we're young then," Snape curtly encouraged.

Black appeared as though he wanted to retort, but held his tongue.

Impressive, for Black.

"I thought about what to say to you and decided against feeding you the apology McGonagall and Dumbledore would like me to say and mean, but they're not here so I have the luxury of honesty," Black led in.

"In spite of how much I can't stand you, I didn't intend for you to get hurt last night. You won't believe me, but it's still true. It was wrong for me to attempt and I'm thankful James stepped in before – well, I'm sorry I could have gotten you seriously injured. You don't have to forgive me and I certainly see no reason for us to get all chummy now, but I just thought you should know that I take no pleasure in the idea of you getting roughed up or worse by Remus and don't plan on trying anything of the sort again. Incidentally, don't take it out on Remus. He had no clue what my stupid git face was up to, so if you want to take it out on someone, well I'll be around."

"Perhaps you will," Snape eyed Black coldly, "or perhaps my family will have more sway over Dumbledore than I have."

Black sighed.

"Won't settle for anything less than expulsion, will you?" Black demanded, "trust me; I'll be paying with interest for this without them having to break my wand. You'll get to see me walking about plenty miserable for your amusement."

"Oh yes, the trials and tribulations of mingling with your friends and being one of the most popular faces in school." Snape sneered. "How my heart bleeds for Sirius Black."

"You have no idea what – " Sirius pointed at Snape before taking a deep breath. "Look, there's no love lost between us here. We're going to go back to hating each other like old news and that's how we both like it. The thing is you're in the right this time and it will probably be a while before we're back on equal footing concerning this feud. So have fun on your high horse, I'll send you an Owl from detention to keep you posted on how my penance is going. Good? Grand."

"Make light of this all you want, Black." Snape haughtily replied. "You're not in the clear yet. I'll see to that."

"Yeah well, run yourself ragged, mate." Sirius muttered as he waved Snape off. Heading towards the classroom door, he glanced back at Snape. "Are you going to tell McGonagall I apologized or you planning on being a prat?"

"I'll tell her about your mediocre attempt." Was all Snape would promise.

"Bully to you, then." Sirius flashed a smile.

It showed every last tooth and was completely insincere.

The obnoxious smile of Blacks.

Snape lingered in the classroom for a moment, glancing at the letter in his hand, musing its contents.

He decided he didn't care.

"Incendio." Snape touched his wand to the envelope and released it before it burst into combusted.

Brushing the ash from his robes, Snape departed the room.

Severus Snape awoke a little after four in the morning on January 2nd from his usual dreamless sleep. This was almost a standard time for him to rise. Not intentionally, just reflexively. A horrible insomniac, Snape habitually mixed light sleeping tonic to force out small amounts of sleep. He didn't mind really.

You accomplish a lot more in 20 hour days anyway.

Too early for him to leave his room without invoking the ire of Argus Filch (the only man in this school who slept less than himself) Snape decided to brew some of his fouler potions before he bothered to clean himself up for the day.

Since winter holiday started, Snape had found an abundance of time on his hands. Without classes to prep for and assignments to complete, he had more opportunities to refine his potion brewing. Might as well stock up for when the rest of the Slytherin returned since their would be no shortage in demand (or finances) once everyone was putting in orders for stimulants, sedatives, mild poisons, and the occasional special request from his Housemates. The steady money was a nice incentive, but Snape did it mostly for the practice and to be considered an active part of House Slytherin.

It was the best his anti-social personality could manage as far as peer outreach was concerned.

After six years of doing this, Snape had earned a few allies and a few favors along the way. The sheer mercenary quality of it all was also to be respected amongst the Slytherin. He was careful never to fashion anything illegal or fatal since Snape had no desire for it to be traced back to him, however, he was not above the questionable or peculiar so long as the client had the money to compensate him for the supplies and his time.

Practice, practice, practice.

While others were intimidated by the exacting art of potion making, Snape welcomed the demand for attention and precision. It kept one's mind off a great many things.

It was soothing.

Snape was presently enlisting such relaxation techniques so he wouldn't be tempted to plot revenge against a bulk of the Gryffindor Six Years. It was hard not to think about how much he loathed the lot of them, but Snape knew any unconventional retaliation on his part wouldn't be tolerated by Dumbledore who was supposedly handling matters from the night before. It didn't help that Heilsing had made her presence more than known. Snape was half amazed she didn't decide to camp out on his bedroom floor just to be on the safe side of things.

Heilsing rightfully suspected he had cast the blood trail incantation, she just couldn't prove it because Dumbledore refused to indulge her.

Fortunately for him.

Snape very much doubted he would be expelled for that since attempted murders like Sirius Black were still around; however that would just raise a slew of questions Snape didn't feel like addressing.

For example:

How he had learned the incantation?

What others did he know?

What was his opinion on the Dark Arts?

Answers:

Through diligent effort and the proper books.

Lots.

A slanderous word for useful magics.

To Severus Snape and a substantial portion of his family and friends, dark magic was regarded as a tool of neutral alignment. The moral were typically too unimaginative to appreciate its benefits while the immoral were too greedy or unwise to recognize it limitations and costs. This philosophy had earned his family a questionable reputation in the Wizarding world and found their closest friends and contacts to be of a less reputable sort as a result.

His Father had joked that those connected to their blood were best regarded as the lesser of all evils.

Admittedly, Arcanus Snape traditionally didn't have a sense of humor so he may have just been making an observation.

Leaving his potions to simmer as he left to bathe, Snape pondered this characteristic of his father along the way. It prompted the question of where he had inherited his sardonic wit if not from him. Many often commented how alike he and his father were in disposition and features, of course he was typically only sarcastic when people were aggravating him or he could afford to be so, which was rarely the case when he was with his father's colleagues or family associates.

Mother then, perhaps?

It would make sense. Her sharp, socialite tongue that possessed the skill of innuendo and the knack for isolating the most remote of weaknesses to lash out upon. He had spent a majority of his time prior to Hogwarts in her presence since his Father loved his career and cared for his family. Of course being the self-imposed sheltered creature she was, his Mother wasn't placed in charge of his formative education; that was for his Father or tutors.

Snape had to admit Mother was not without things to teach. In addition to her gift of aristocratic savvy, her knowledge of hexes and high-road magics was astounding. Snape had enjoyed these lessons, but they kept his Father surprisingly ignorant of this considering he worked in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry.

Snape accredited his mother's cruel humor and lax biases on magic as the foundation for their fairly pleasant relationship. She was rarely more proud of her only son than when she was privy to him tearing down someone annoying and it was mutual for him.

This had prepared him extraordinarily for functioning within Slytherin.

At breakfast, the other members of the House that stayed over were plotting how to best while away their fleeting days of break. Judging by the infrequent sightings of both of Aaron Lestrange and Mary Tudor's hands and his utter lack of interest in what they employing them for, Snape assumed they had a plan. Nott and Avery were in a debate whether Pure-Bloods or Mud-Bloods made better ritualistic sacrifices in various spells and argued when they couldn't match opinions.

Snape stole a quick glance at the Gryffindors end of the Hall. Lily and Potter were seated close to one another but weren't nearly as affectionate as the couple at his table. It was a good thing they retained some decency, anything less wouldn't suit the Gryffindor golden boy and his latest trophy.

Though Snape thought it would be funny if Potter tried something lewd since he was assured Lily's reaction would be memorable.

Lupin made infrequent comments to Pettigrew's dialogue. He appeared to be far too invested in looking sour when he wasn't buttering Figg's toast or pouring her fresh pumpkin juice from a pitcher. Snape assumed this was meant to be some thoughtful gesture but he viewed it as just making Figg out to be utterly incompetent. Taking this as some sort of indication that Lupin and Figg were attached now, Snape was curious if she knew about Lupin's nightlife. Snape had to admit that the two suited one another a bit.

Whenever he wasn't a foaming monster, Lupin was a whimpering pushover who was just begging for some domineering shrew like Figg to waltz in and commander whatever fraction of dignity Snape didn't give him the credit of possessing.

Black was nowhere to be found at the table and Snape figured it would be uncharacteristically optimistic of him to assume he was lying dead somewhere in the castle. That only left his friends had turned on him in all likeliness.

So even the loyalty of the Gryffindors has its limits.

When the family Hawk (Mother found Owls passé) delivered a package that was most likely potion supplies and a letter, Severus had an excuse to ignore the heavy petting and morbid curiosity that was presently boxing him in along with the speculations regarding the Gryffindor. He read the letter but refused to open the package in public.

1977, January 1st:

Severus:

Your Father and I would wish you a Happy New Year if Albus Dumbledore had not made us so acutely aware of how it began. We are relieved to know that you are well in spite of everything; however, I am not entirely confident in his methods regarding the Blacks' son.

At his invitation; although we would have come otherwise, we shall be arriving at Hogwarts in the late morning of January 3rd to discuss this incident. Your Father will encourage an alternate decision of Headmaster Dumbledore as, judging from the letter you sent describing what had transpired and everything leading up to it, he is completely under reacting. Well, this will all be sorted out in a few days time.

Winifred was bored without your presence at Winter Solstice. I know she is not nearly as sophisticated a conversation as you traditionally favor, however you are the only one who bothers to talk to her at these family affairs since the rest of your Father's side be rather unaccommodating to those unfamiliar with everything unknown. Your Father is a brilliant man, Severus, but that does not excuse his frustrating theoretical topics of conversation.

As such, I have decided that regardless of your preference for where you will be spending your Spring Holiday, I would like you home. Vernal Equinox will be with us and I refuse to have your Aunt Vates talk down to me as though I were a simpering fool because we all cannot be blessed with clairvoyance. Thankfully you were never your Father's son when it came to the vaguely credible field that is Divination. In any case, feel free to invite whomever you care to over for the holiday, just so long as they refrain from insisting upon reading their tea leaves every time we pour a fresh cup.

I picked up your usual supplies for your projects and a few rare ones I happened across in Knockturn Alley. I am not certain of what all of them are ingredients of, but I'm sure you will find a use to put them to. Winifred will be returning to school this weekend. If she requests you brew her anything, oblige her since she recommended a few of them to me.

Fondly,

Mother

"Anything interesting?" Mary Tudor poked at the package with one long finger, before nodding to the letter.

"The usual family trappings." Snape replied in a bored tone. He hadn't bothered to mention his other evening to the rest of the Slytherins since they would relentlessly pry for details and lacked the facets necessary for any constructive advice. "My Mother chiding me for not coming home to entertain Winifred."

Winifred Wilkes was Snape's distant cousin on his paternal side. Their Great-Grandfathers had been identical twins and they were the most recent descendants of these lines. As such, they were more than accustom to one another's presence and maintained a civil relationship both inside and out of Hogwarts. In her own self-indulgent way, Winifred was amusing at times but their interaction typically lacked the intelligence and appeal that his ones with Lily Evans offered. She was also familiar with Mary Tudor and the other Slytherin girls of their Year.

"Pity she didn't stay over. It would have been nice to have her around. Bit dull with no other girls my Year to talk to." Tudor commented as her boyfriend nibbled on her ear. Snape was fairly sure Tudor had managed too keep herself amused just fine without female companionship. "You don't have any vials of Contraceptive Drafts about do you."

"I am entirely too informed of your sexual habits, Mary." Snape reported while he folded his letter into his robes.

"If you weren't so repressed you could be an active participant." Tudor countered playfully.

Although cunning and ambition were prerequisites of Slytheirn according to the school's the Sorting Hat; hedonism, amoral behavior, and sexual debauchery became chic somewhere around 4th Year. Not nearly as provocative as the other Houses extended them the credit of being, Slytherin operated on a do-as-you-feel-just-don't-get-caught principle that many students outside of the House had difficulty grasping.

Professor Heilsing certainly didn't condone it but she wasn't really considered to be a part of Slytherin even though she was the Head of the House. As such, a form of Slytherin fun was the coveted art of misdirection. Successfully preoccupying Heilsing without her knowing you were responsible was an instant and vast source of prestige. The more daring for the perpetrator and the more infuriating it was for Heilsing, the more satisfying it was when congratulations were distributed in the commons.

"Flattered, however I don't quite feel like relinquishing the oddity of being the only person in our House not to see either of you naked." Snape declined. "I'll put it on your already running tab and leave the bottle in the common room?"

"That's fine." Tudor shrugged as she turned her attentions to Lestrange who was contributing his own opinions to Nott and Avery's debate.

Snape rose from breakfast with his package under arm. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Professor Dumbledore was approaching him. The other Slytherins quickly straightened up and abandoned any unseemly conversations as they watched the Headmaster suspiciously.

"Good morning, all of you." Dumbledore greeted the table, earning a few muttered responses before he turned to Snape. "Would it be an inconvenience for me to walk with you for a bit, Mr. Snape?"

"Not at all." Snape cordially replied as he walked off with Dumbledore, keeping his package on his opposite side. Exiting the Great Hall, Dumbledore said hello to some late arriving students before turning to Snape.

"Severus, I was curious to know if your afternoon was free." Dumbledore smiled as Snape approached.

"I had some projects in mind but nothing that cannot be put off until later." Snape replied, feeling little need to mention he had been eager to brewing with supplies only available in Knockturn Alley since his package had arrived. Although he was still disgruntled with his lack of satisfaction in Black's discipline, Snape didn't believe it would be prudent to antagonize the Headmaster.

That was for his parents to do.

"What would you have of me, Professor?" Snape inquired.

"Regarding the incident a night prior." Dumbledore spoke softly so his voice would not carry too far from the conversation. "I plan on informing the other students involved later of this as well; all your parents or guardians will be arriving tomorrow to discuss what has occurred."

"Yes, I received a message from them just this morning informing me of such." Snape nodded. "I will see them late morning I believe."

"Your Father works for the Ministry, does he not?" Dumbledore made polite conversation.

"Yes, the Department of Mysteries." Snape agreed. "They are considering promoting him as the Head."

"I am certain Arcanus Snape would be well suited for such a position." Professor Dumbledore processed this thoughtfully. "I took the liberty of contacting someone in the Department of Magical Catastrophes I would like you to speak with before all the parents and their students discuss what has occurred."

Snape's eyes lit up slightly at this prospect. Perhaps Dumbledore wasn't being as unaccommodating has he had originally thought if he was willing to involve the Ministry. Most likely this was a part of some procedure that needed to be carried out, but it still ensured that the Ministry would be aware beyond that of his Father and any other parents who held ties to the Ministry.

"That would be acceptable." Snape consented. "When will they be arriving?"

"Actually you are to meet her in Hogsmeade at noon in the Three Broomsticks. She felt it would bring less attention to the situation if she spoke with you outside of Hogwarts." Dumbledore informed. "I have made all the traveling arrangements already. Once you are prepared to leave, speak with Professor Heilsing and she will see you out."

She? So then a Witch.

"Whom shall I ask for when I arrive?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I believe she shall introduce herself to you." Dumbledore assured. "If you will excuse me, I must see a few more of your peers before the day is out. Enjoy yourself, Severus, if it is at all possible given your recent stress. Farewell."

Dumbledore strolled off, leaving Snape near the entrance of the dungeons. He was wary of Dumbledore's deliberate vagueness concerning his meeting in Hogsmeade, but that was also the Headmaster's usual peculiar disposition. Deciding he had enough time to inventory his new potion ingredients and retrieve the vial Tudor requested before he should leave, Snape was curious as to what the Ministry's assessment of the situation would be.

Arriving in Hogsmeade with twenty minutes to spare, Snape browsed the shops of the burg. It was refreshing not to have half of Hogwarts scuttling about with him. Deciding there was nothing in particular he cared to purchase, Snape made his way to the Three Broomsticks at a leisurely pace.

Stepping into the establishment, it was almost startling empty since Snape was more familiar with it being overrun by Hogwarts students. Supporting only a few patrons for lunch, Snape scanned the room until he noticed a young woman motioning towards him.

Approaching the Witch as she rose to greet him, Snape observed that she was probably in her mid-twenties if that. Her robes were professional but feminine navy satin to match her eyes which were masked beneath oval glasses. Her raven hair was drawn behind her head, reminding Snape slightly of Professor McGonagall.

If McGonagall had ever been an elegant, composed beauty that is.

"You must be Severus Snape." The Witch extended her hand and a smile to Snape, which he accepted.

Such a familiar smile…

"You are with the Ministry then, I assume." Snape rhetorically guessed as he sat in the seat she gestured towards. He took note of her handsome carrying case, along with some folders and stationary arranged orderly on her side of the table.

"Yes, I'm an Analyst." She nodded.

"Of situations such as mine?" Snape inquired.

"Of people in situations such as yours." She replied

Realizing what Dumbledore's wolf in comely sheep's clothing, Snape had to laugh.

"That would make you a psychiatrist then?" Snape smirked.

Brilliant. The old man thought he was mad.

"If you'd like to reduce my position to its most evidently threatening incarnation to you, then yes." She nodded, slightly amused. "In all actuality, I meet with wizards and witches after traumatic events, listen to what they have to say about them, make a few notes, and offer recommendations on how to remedy things without complicating the circumstances any further than it has already become."

Removing her glasses, the Witch offered another kind smile.

"Your statement on what has transpired is the only part of our meeting any person, aside from myself, will be aware of officially. If you feel there is anything you wish to confide in me, then I took a rather serious oath when I started in the department obligating me to treat whatever you mention discreetly. While it might impact my recommendations to my superiors, they will have absolutely no knowledge of the specifics. I would very much like to hear what you have to say since I can only imagine what you're thinking and feeling presently."

Snape's black eyes didn't waver from the woman as he listened to her. He was still attempting to handle that he was sitting with a supposed authority on emotion and reaction courtesy of Albus Dumbledore. While he could recognize the necessity of a person such as herself in the Wizarding worlds, Snape felt if he had required someone to reflect on his assumed distress then he would have requested one. Resentful of his permission being usurped so blatantly, Snape decided to be only cooperative enough to move things along.

"I'm assuming you'd wish me to tell you what happened?" Snape suggested.

"Well I have a very thorough description of events thanks to Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall's that's based on everything either had heard from the parties involved." The Witch explained. "I'm mostly here for your perspective and what we discuss from that point forward will be up to you."

"You're coming off as a therapist again." Snape observed coolly.

"That will happen, I'll beg you to bear with me." She looked amused again.

"May I speak bluntly?" Snape didn't bother to wait for a reply. "I find this entire meeting to be bloody ridiculous. I'm the victim of an elaborate deathtrap engineered by a deranged mind yet I'm the one being analyzed. Psychiatrists are fond of seeking out the root of the problem aren't they? I'll spare you a precious amount of time and energy, his name is Sirius Black and I believe he is in more desperate need of having his head examined than myself."

"You know I've been recommending it to the family for years, I assure you." The Witch smiled in a knowing manner.

"You are familiar with Black?" Snape was suddenly interested in what she had to say now.

"Only by blood. My name is Dr. Aurora Black." Aurora introduced herself formally. "Sirius Black is my younger brother."

Although he had felt blindside since he'd bother to leave his room, Snape had to admit he didn't see that one coming.

Considering himself to presently be the subject of an intricate conspiracy to agitate him even more than he already was, Snape found himself glaring at Black's sister. This must be Dumbledore's grand plan to have the Ministry involved while everything gets silently swept under the rug. After all, it's not as though Black's sister was going to throw the book at her own brother.

"Doesn't your department find this to be a conflict of interests? Sending an attempted murder's sister to talk with his intended victim?" Snape raised an eyebrow, speaking through his teeth. He was outraged to the point of storming out and Owling his parents that very instant.

"Actually I said that myself." Aurora shrugged as though it were some minor irony. "They thought I would be able to offer a unique perspective through my relationship with Sirius and my conversation with you. I had my own protests initially but I suppose there is a certain wisdom in all this."

"This is a waste of both our time." Snape's voice was icy. "Whatever I have to say on the matter will be sugar coated through the intervention of family bonds. By the time we're finished here, you'll be describing Black as a cheeky lad who got a little carried away."

Aurora Black gave Snape a sharp look as though he had personally insulted her as he was sorely tempted to. Leaning in closer, she locked eyes with him in a firm manner.

"Instead of you guessing at what my position is on all this, why not let me inform you." Her voice wooden.

"I love my brother, Mr. Snape and I won't pretend otherwise, however I am also serious about my vocation and the responsibilities that are a part of it. You have my assurances that I will to take note of what you have to say with the same objective mind I would have in any other case. If I feel Sirius is every bit the danger you describe him to be, I'll be the first to recommend measures be taken to ensure his safety and those associated with him. It's because I love Sirius that I wouldn't risk blinding myself to delinquent behavior. I don't want him to muck up his life beyond repair if I can do something to prevent all that."

Snape couldn't decide if she bore a resemblance to Sirius Black yet since he had never seen Black look either serious or mature in all the encounters they shared over the years. She had his dark hair, but her eyes were a different blue. Not the frosty shade of Black's, but the color one would find on the deepest ocean. Weighing her family ties against her sense of professional integrity, Snape decided to give the woman a fair chance since she appeared adamant about hearing him out.

Even if she was a Black.

"Very well." Snape consented. "However if I get the slightest indication that you're attempting to dismiss or twist my words to save your brother's hide, this conversation is over and I'll be sure you're lack of professionalism is noted."

"That is an utterly reasonable request." Dr. Black nodded, smiling again. "I should make you aware, part of my being objective is to offer alternate points of view for you to consider. Think of it as a civil debate. You don't like what I say, challenge it, and I'll pay you the same respect."

"Agreed." Snape crossed his arms, wondering how long it would be before she was abandoning her word on Sirius's behalf.

Placing her Raven-feather Quill between her fingers, she placed her spectacles upon her face and pulled a section of parchment in front of her.

"Now then, if you'd describe the evening as you saw it, we can get started." Dr. Black encouraged.

Dr. Black listened without interruption or protest, though she did occasionally ask him to pause so she could finish something she was scribbling or repeat a sentence so she could quote it. After spending fifteen minutes or so recording his version of the night, Aurora Black quickly scanned over her notes and placed them to the side before returning her attention to Snape.

"Let's take a break, hm?" She offered. "Order a bite before we go on?"

"If you are so inclined." Snape consented aloofly.

Beckoning a waitress over, Dr. Black turned to Snape.

"Get whatever you want on my coin." She insisted. "It's the least I can do considering Sirius's behavior."

"So you're Black's older sister now, Doctor?" Snape questioned.

"When I'm on lunch break I am." Dr. Black reported slightly amused. "Speaking of which, feel free to call me Aurora when you're my dining company. May I call you by your first name as well?"

"I suppose if 'Mr. Snape' is too difficult for you to recall." Snape commented.

"I respond just as nicely to 'yes' or 'no' responses as I do 'sod off, cow', Mr. Snape. Possibly better, I'd wager." Aurora assured, calling Snape on his rudeness.

Sirius's wit was poking out a bit on her.

"Severus is fine." Snape saw little point in being petty.

Ordering a few sandwiches and a pot of tea between them, Aurora removed her glasses once more, folding them along with her hands.

"Why not tell me a bit about yourself?" Aurora suggested. "You know, the usual sort of chitchat, family, friends, hobbies?"

"Parents and some extended, few and far between, and potion making as well as hating your brother and his friends." Snape listed.

Aurora snorted a laugh.

"Sarcastic thing aren't you?" She observed almost appreciatively.

"Sorry if my etiquette is a bit off." Snape smugly. "I'm not entirely sure what to discuss with the sister of a boy I utterly loath while she's attempted to analyze me."

"But you have spoken with PEOPLE before, haven't you?" Aurora rolled her eyes a bit. "It's pretty much along the same lines. If you don't want me to know anything you don't have to mention it, we both attempt inoffensive inquiries of one another's lives, and if I hit a sore spot just tell me so and I'll back off graciously."

"Fine, how long have you had this intrusive job of your?" Snape provoked a chuckle from Aurora. The woman certainly had a measure of tolerance her brother didn't possess.

"Six years." Aurora replied. "I spent my first two years out of Hogwarts interning at St. Mungo's. I had considered becoming a physician initially."

"What had changed your mind?" Snape continued.

"I found myself spending more and more time with those whose memories or psyches suffered tremendously after some Wizarding mishap or another. It struck a cord with me so I made the decision to help prevent people from landing in such predicaments rather than resign myself to merely treating them. My current employ allows me to accomplish such and I find it very rewarding." Aurora went on.

"I'd expect as much gallant sentiment from a former Gryffindor." Snape stated.

"What would you expect from a Ravenclaw since that was my affiliated House at Hogwarts." Aurora smirked.

The waitress came along with their tea and sandwiches, distributing them appropriately.

"I had assumed that Blacks were commonly Gryffindors." Snape muttered, aggravated that jumping to that conclusion had made him look foolish.

"Because of Sirius? No, he's the first Gryffindor to the Black's credit in ages. We're traditionally the Hufflepuff sort, but Sirius and I thought it would be fun to shake things up a bit." Aurora sipped her tea. "Must say, Gryffindor suits the little prank-monkey."

Snape felt a smile twitch at his lips but he refused to indulge it.

"So, how about you? What House are you associated with or do I get to guess too?" Aurora sweetened her tea some more.

"Why not guess." Snape felt like testing the woman's perception.

"Hmm, afraid you'd say that. Probably shouldn't have offered, eh?" Aurora paused as she looked Snape over for a moment. "I'll say a fellow Ravenclaw."

"Why?" Snape prompted, gagging to see if her entire basis for this was narcissism.

"Let's see. You resent the Gryffindors a bit for their showiness so that would suggest you're not one of them. You strike me as the introverted sort so that would make you a strange breed of Hufflpuff. You articulate yourself well and have a dry wit, which makes you as likely candidate for Slytherin as Ravenclaw, but the Slytherins I know seemed a little more fond of their mind games in conversations." Aurora rationalized. "So?"

"I'm a Slytherin. Interesting deduction though." Snape informed as he picked at his food. "And I do like my mind games. Pity your brother doesn't have much of one to play with."

"Sirius was never one for subtleties, but he has his own way of contending with people whom challenge him." Aurora agreed in a nostalgic tone. "I used to be my Brother's keeper, still am I suppose. Wish I could go back to sending him to his room without afternoon tea."

Aurora had done an admirable performance of pretending not to be affected by her brother's behavior, but the mask slipped briefly when she glanced off to the side, hiding the disappointment in her eyes. Snape imagined she probably took Black's prank personally, as some comment of the influence she had in his life. Just as quickly as this vulnerability displayed itself, Aurora brushed it to the side like a stray thread on her robes.

"You said it's only you and your parents. Only child then?" Aurora smiled with interest. Snape recognized she and Sirius has the same smile, though Aurora's was far less sarcastic than the one he was used to seeing.

"It suits me." Snape divulged. If Sirius was any indication of the Blacks' quality of stock, he wagered Aurora would have been better off as one as well. Snape was struck with the morbid curiosity of what the Black Line's chances of dying out were.

"How many siblings do you have aside from your brother?"

"Two sisters; younger than me, older than Sirius." Aurora replied. "A couple years after me was Celestine, she's got a fairly successful owl breeding venture going through my parents, and two years before Sirius is Acontiae, she just started as a photographer for Witch Weekly a month ago."

Snape shuddered at the thought of having three older sisters, two of which sounded like absolute flakes. Snape wasn't entirely sure of his opinion towards Aurora as of the moment. He resented her on the possibility she was some Trojan Horse to help Black out of the hot water he had landed himself in. Other than that, he never would have believed her to be such a close blood relation of Sirius Black if not for her admission.

Or that same smile.

Something vague hinted to Snape, like a teasing quote you could only paraphrase rather than entirely recite.

"You remind me of someone. Someone other than Black." Snape clarified.

Who though?

"Is that a good thing?" Aurora picked up the remaining part of her sandwich.

"Possibly." Snape watched her more closely, hoping it would come to him soon.

"You mentioned when you weren't despising my brother and his company you liked Potions. Is that your favorite class?" Aurora kept the conversation moving.

"That or Defense Against the Dark Arts. Both have inadequate instructors." Snape answered.

"Dumbledore had hired Vigilia Heilsing the year after I graduated, hadn't he? Given her reputation in the Ministry I would have thought she'd be a wealth of knowledge." Aurora admitted a bit surprised.

"Perhaps." Snape was wondering if his personal dislike of Heilsing was clouding his evaluation of her teaching. "I stand by Brewsteem being sub-par."

"You mean she's STILL teaching?" Aurora marveled with a laugh. "She looked a stone throw from a nervous breakdown when I attended. Probably why I didn't much care for potion making. It's a wonder you fancy it."

"I had aptitude before hand." Snape explained. "And I have extracurricular projects to keep me interested."

"I liked Charms myself." Aurora noted. "I'm attempting to develop one for clarity of the mind. My hope is it might help those who have gotten muddled by some accident or another. Planning on doing anything with your Potion work?"

"I suppose I'll take a route similar to yours. Invent some new draft that might be of use." Snape shrugged.

"Well you might want to consider being an Analyst if that doesn't work out." Aurora advised. "You're a good listener, ask the right sort of questions. Penchant for mind games never hurts."

"Be that as it may, I think my interpersonal skills are very lacking." Snape countered.

"That's just because you have a guarded personality." Aurora decided.

With that, the elusive similarity came into focus for Snape.

"Lily Evans." Snape said abruptly. "That's who you remind me of. Somewhat."

There were similarities. Fondness of Charms, subtle wit, graceful poise, sense of compassion, seriousness towards their duties. But they were different women. Aurora appeared to possess a greater command of her emotions. She dismissed his snide comments with amusement rather than allowing herself to be wounded to the heart with each one. Aurora was also far less reactionary; she permitted so much to drift past her without feeling compelled to overanalyze or jump to conclusion. Perhaps this was just the difference of eight years or so. When such time elapsed for her, Lily might be the same sophisticated woman as Aurora Black.

Probably not with Potter's influence.

"Lily Evans?" Aurora glanced to her notes without really reading them. "She was the girl involved. You never mentioned how you were acquainted with her. Seems like an awful lot of grief to go through just for a classmate."

"We are peers with civil regard for one another." Snape specified.

"So friends then?" Aurora cocked her head just to the side. She said the word as if it were both obvious and novel; probably because she considered it obvious to her and novel to him.

She wasn't without a point.

"We're both Prefects. At times, we are friends." Snape stated.

"At times?" Aurora glanced quizzically as she poured fresh tea for the both of them.

"We have the habit of saying the wrong things to one another." Snape wasn't comfortable with this conversation. "It's complicated."

"Isn't it always with the opposite sex?" Aurora said more to herself than Snape.

"Why? Are you dating an egotistical prat who plans to coast through life with nothing more than charm and juvenile antics as well?" Snape inquired curtly.

"I hadn't realized Sirius had gotten himself a girlfriend." Aurora smiled to show she was joking.

Snape felt himself smile slightly.

"Potter." He corrected.

"Ah, James!" Aurora smile broadened.

What the hell was with women and Potter?

"Take it you like him?" Snape observed bitterly.

"Practically a second little brother that one." Aurora nodded. "Typically had the most sense of the two. Poor boy though, he's had more loss for him than most will ever know. He and Sirius are good for one another."

Aurora stopped, as though she realized she was talking a bit too much or just to the wrong person.

"Well, you reckon we should get back to talking about the other night?" Aurora suggested.

"I suppose." Snape was not at all eager to resume Aurora's inquiry. He doubted that deviating from their idle conversation would do anything other than lower his opinion of her.

Oh well, it had been interesting for a while.

"All right then. Now do you think Black intended to harm you through his prank?" Aurora began. Snape was slightly impressed with her ability to detach herself personally from the situation so abruptly.

"I'd say it's likely given our prior interactions." Snape responded. "Who could be so thoughtless as to assume they have a situation such as that under their explicit control?"

"Evidently Sirius Black." A knowing look flickered over Aurora's face but vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Do you think it was his intention for Lupin to either bite or kill you that night? Part of my reason for being here is to assess if Sirius Black is capable of cold blooded violence."

Aurora's expression was blank as she awaited his reply. How could she say something like that about her own brother without reacting?

"I'd say Black was more negligent than deliberate." Snape admitted. "That doesn't make him any less a menace in my opinion."

"I can understand that." Aurora scribbled notes down.

Snape guessed she meant that professionally, not as Black's sister.

"Do you think Black's capable of repeating an incident such as the one New Year's Eve?" Aurora pressed.

"It's not certain, but it's likely." Snape replied.

More notes.

How could she just block through it?

"Do you think Black's likely to attempt harming you in the future?" Aurora questioned.

"Probably not through nearly as elaborate a means as before, but yes." Snape confirmed.

"And others?"

"I think Lupin, Evans, and Pettigrew could attest to Black being something of a threat to those exposed to him." Snape noted.

"How would you describe Sirius Black's mental state?"

"Impulsive and volatile. He changes moods very rapidly between the camaraderie he extends to his friends and the wrath he subjects his enemies too. He's unstable and seems to not value his attachments since he was willing to exploit his own friend just to get at me." Snape evaluated.

Notes again.

No reaction.

"Finally, what do you think should happen to Sirius Black?"

"I think he should become expelled before he learns of new ways to hurt those around him." Snape spoke candidly. "I'd also recommend someone investigates his psychological stability more closely."

Aurora Black placed her Quill down and turned to Snape with a smile.

It was in courtesy, not warmth.

It had changed.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to consider your sentiments in my recommendation for my superiors and Professor Dumbledore when we head back." Aurora started to return her belongings into her carrying bag.

"We?" Snape asked curiously.

"Yes, I'll be returning to Hogwarts with you." Aurora nodded, softly adding. "I planned to talk with Sirius."

"That must be a conflict of interests. To analyze your own brother." Snape mentioned.

"Oh, I'm not going on behalf of my job." Aurora shook her head. "Just as his sister."

"Oh."

"If you have no objections, we could head out right now." Aurora offered.

"That would be fine." Snape approved.

"Alright." Aurora paid the bill and rose. "Well, I'm officially off the clock so no more shop talk, agreed?"

"Agreed." Snape replied, not interested in going into that conversation further.

Aurora had a relieved smile on now.

Snape wondered if all the Blacks had that same smile.

"So do Slytherins and Ravenclaws still have that peaceful acquaintance policy running?" Aurora wondered.

"We have a mutual tolerance in effect." Snape smirked. "The brave few inter-House date on occasion."

"It was like that when I went." Aurora reminisced. "I was one of the brave few from time to time."

"Any particular reason for being such?"

"Practicality has its appeal and if its one thing you Slytherins know it's you can't learn everything from books."

Just as she had said, Aurora didn't mention the incident on New Years Eve any more nor did she ever attempt to dissuade Snape off his dislike for Sirius Black.

In fact, she only mentioned her brother in passing conversation.

Snape assumed Aurora was more than conscious of what her brother considering he had been reared in her presence. She also was probably sensitive how his antics may be difficult to appreciate outside of the family and those close to them.

On their return to Hogwarts, Aurora and Snape exchanged more dialogue like they had at lunch. The more relevant points of their discussion revealed that Aurora was twenty-five as of September and she lived in London with a Morning Dove named Helios as her only acknowledged roommate if there were others, but spent time at her family manner when she could afford it. She didn't keep a close interest with Quidditch but knew enough herself and was moderately informed between her father, Sirius, and her sister Celestine prattling on to have something of an idea of what went on.

That was as personal as Aurora delved, but Snape noticed a bit more past the surface of their chat.

Aurora avoided mentioning anything personal about her life, such as friends, hobbies, or other intimate details that slip out. Perhaps she was still keeping up a certain professional decorum or perhaps she didn't have much of a personal life. Still, she said things whether or not she intended.

He was willing to wager that Aurora was significantly influenced by her Father's example since she lacked the typical emotional responses more domesticated women project. It wasn't impossible that her Mother was a strong example to follow but Sirius Black struck Snape as more of the coddled Momma's boy sort. Aurora appeared to project a majority of her maternal instincts in her younger brother, possibly her younger sisters too but Snape couldn't say for sure. She presented herself as independent and secure, which probably meant she was either a professional bachelorette or in a deeply invested relationship. Snape leaned towards the former since she appeared reasonably guarded.

He noticed that though he was eight years younger than her, Aurora never spoke down to him or implied that his opinion was less credible since he was her junior. Snape doubted it was on account of her infrequent association with his age group since he imagined Black had his friends over often enough. Maybe she was just accustomed to speaking with young adults as adults or potentially pandering didn't suit her liking all that well.

Snape was also fairly confident that as he analyzed Aurora while speaking she was inspecting his own words and nonverbal signals as well.

Maybe he would be a decent Analyst.

Strolling through the grand entrance of Hogwarts, Aurora stopped her pace in front of the main stairwell. She turned and extended her hand once more to Snape.

"Well Severus, this is where I shall leave you for the day so I can reflect on our discussion, contact my superiors, and give my assessment to Professor Dumbledore." Aurora reported with a slight bow as the shook hands. "I'll Owl you sometime when I get the opportunity, see how things are going along with you. Feel free to do the same in between your Potion projects."

"You don't have to say that. You don't have to feel obliged to talk with me now that I'm off your caseload." Snape replied softly.

Aurora smiled one last time, rolling her sapphire eyes slightly.

"I'll Owl you sometime." She repeated, before she made her way up the stairs with a polite wave.

Thinking better of lingering, Snape made his way to the library. Ignoring the usual intrusive stare of Madam Pince, Snape made his way over to the stacks reserved for information pertaining to Hogwarts. Scanning the shelves, Snape found the Hogwarts Memoirs for 1969-1970. Curious to see how much he thought he knew about Aurora Black, deemed it would be good to start by seeing if she was even a Ravenclaw as she had claimed.

Scanning the scribed print and animated pictures of the years, Snape skipped to the index to find the Black, Aurora. He found cited on nearly a dozen pages in the book, far more than most of the other Ravenclaws graduating in her Year.

Starting with the first reference, Snape found it was a biography of Aurora Black that all students expected to have made in their final Year at Hogwarts.

Aurora Black

Born: 1952, September 3rd

Credits: Quidditch (Keeper);1966-1970, Prefect; 1967-1970, Special Merit Award for Outstanding Performance in Charms; 1970

Nicknames: "Aura" and "The Honorary Slytherin"

Best Remembered for: Getting off scot-free after slapping Lucius Malfoy in front of Professor Dumbledore in Transfigurations.

Prediction for the Future: Most likely to let her smile be her passport.

Snape suppressed a chuckle, as he flipped to more pages. According to the book, Aurora moonlighted as a Slytherin since she spent nearly as much time with them as her own House. There were a few pictures of her and Lucius Malfoy together, showing them smiling formally with their peers around them with one portraying them strolling the meadow near the lake.. Snape knew Lucius Malfoy through his Father's work and Mother's friends. He appreciated Lucius's presence usually since there were few people his age typically at family functions and other gathering. Snape wondered how familiar he was with Aurora during their time at Hogwarts. Reasonably, he'd wager, if she had cause to slap him.

That was probably an interesting story.

Aurora also underplayed her interest in Quidditch since she was on her House team for four years; possibly she outgrew it after graduation.

Snape noticed that most of the pictures had Aurora smiling out with a proper grin, pretty but insincere. He doubted that she was necessarily miserable when these pictures were taken, but she probably wasn't the type to ever be caught exuberant while unaware of it.

Satisfied that Aurora was, more or less, who she claimed to be, Snape closed the book and left the library, debating what to do with his evening. He considered visiting the House commons but doubted he'd find any entertaining company. Lily was probably off with Potter if she didn't take it upon herself to futilely appoint herself as mediator Lupin and Black's falling out. Snape recommitted himself to start mixing potions has he had originally intended to that day.

On his way back to the Dungeons, Snape heard Professor Dumbledore and Sirius Black's voices carry into the corridor.

"My sister's here? Why?" Black asked.

"Aurora's present on my invitation." Dumbledore explained. "I asked her to offer her insights onto the situations. We just finished a lengthy discussion in my office and she has requested to speak to you about the decision we have reached."

Curious in spite of his better judgment, Snape followed where he suspected the voices were heading. Careful to take quiet steps and maintain a length of distance, Snape crept after the Headmaster and Black. Edging around the corner, Snape was grateful for the shadows as he caught sight of the Black siblings and Dumbledore from a distance near the main entrance.

"I believe I will take my leave of you for the moment. I'm sure there are matters you both wish to speak of in confidence."

Snape didn't care for the knowing tone in Dumbledore's voice but suspected that he would have called him out if he had known he was actually there.

"Aura, hey. What's new." Black's tone was deflated.

"Busy. Not as busy as you though." Aurora replied in a disapproving tone.

"Yeah." Was all he could say in response.

"Do you know what you DID to all of us at home, Sirius?" Aurora's voice broke as she stared at her brother. "What you could have done to Severus Snape? To your friends?"

"I know." Black couldn't even look at his sister. "How's everyone?"

"Celestine beside herself with worry. She's convinced you'll go to Azkaban for this no matter what I tell her and don't expect Acontiae to speak with you anytime soon. But she's always been the one to hold a grudge amongst us." Aurora reported with a sigh. Black nodded.

"And Mum and Dad?" Black asked hesitantly.

"Mum's sure you'll be expelled for this and Dad says he's going to pull you out of Hogwarts and break your wand himself if they don't." Aurora reluctantly admitted. Black flinched at the words as though each one lashed against him like a whip. "Mum just won't stop crying, Sir."

Black seemed as though he was about to cry himself.

"Bloody hell. I screwed up, didn't I, Aura?"

Snape imagined Aurora would have found the question rhetorical if anyone but her younger brother had asked it. Common sense probably had a habit of passing Black along much too often to take the chances.

"Yes, you did." Aurora nodded.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Black pressed.

"I recommended to Professor Dumbledore that you come back with me to my department for a bit." Aurora explained gently. "You still have almost a week until school is back in session and if things go as I expect them to, you'll miss only a day or two of the new term at most."

"So they're locking me up." Black didn't sound that surprised.

"No." Aurora firmly corrected with a reassuring hand on her brother's shoulder. "We're just going to talk and try to knit some of that scattered brain of yours back together."

Smiling to show she was only half serious, Aurora affectionately brushed a stray lock of Sirius's hair from his eyes. He looked towards her before pulling her into a hug.

"Aurora," Sirius sobbed quietly into her shoulder

"I didn't mean to. James, Remus, Lily…"

"I know, Sirius." Aurora soothed. "I think a lot of people know that too."

Uncomfortable with his eavesdropping suddenly, Snape left to brew his potions.

It always took his mind off things.

Severus Snape didn't want to think about conflicting interests.

Stuff mentioned:

(Father) Arcanus Snape Arcane/Unknown

(Aunt) Vates Snape Seer/One who divines

And Aurora's a Virgo!


	20. Subtle SilverLinings

Subtle Silver-Linings

By: Oy! Angelina

Aside from everything Lily contributed, James was miserable in his life presently.

Sirius's eldest sister had come to claim him for a bit. Professor McGonagall explained it was only a sabbatical and Sirius would be back shortly. James didn't like it, but it was probably best that Sirius was gone. Sirius was the type to bend over backwards to get back into someone's good graces while Remus only got more annoyed when someone he was already cross with made a big show about groveling. However, that didn't change the fact his best friend was gone, leaving James to feel like he was almost completely on his own.

Remus was hard to talk with as of late.

James knew he wasn't upset with him in particular, but Remus's bad mood saturated everything. He acted guilty around James, Lily, and Peter; evidently not coping well with the possibilities of how he could have serious hurt the lot of them. Naturally, no one faulted Remus, but it invited the conversation back on Sirius if they mentioned that. Then Remus would definitely get agitated.

There was presently an elephant in the Gryffindor common room.

For the most part, Remus had gone off into his own little world with Arabella since she was the only one who didn't know how complicated everything was for him at the moment. It probably wasn't all that fair to her since no one would say why Remus wasn't speaking with Sirius or what happened New Years Eve in general. James had figured Arabella would be a lot more inquisitive about all the mystery circling about but she resigned herself to lift everyone's spirits, especially Remus.

She had only marginal success all through January 1st and 2nd.

Peter was acting odd too. James guessed he was just worried about Sirius but whenever prompted to talk about it, he quickly changed the subject off of himself. He had been like that since the Professors had brought him to the Hospital Wing; it was almost as if Peter felt guilty about something. James suspected that he knew more about Sirius or his prank that he had admitted, but Sirius never mentioned anyone contributing to his plan during his lengthy confessions. Of course, James wasn't naïve enough to assume this automatically cleared Peter of any connection to what had happened. Peter had a conformist personality, always going along with whoever made the best (or in the least most vocal) argument for something and it wouldn't be the first time Sirius got Peter to go along with one of his "brilliant" plans.

Since Peter was silent and Sirius was unavailable, James felt things were complicated enough in his circle of friends without throwing around accusations and decided to mention something about it to Sirius when he got back to Hogwarts.

James was beginning to feel like he was the only sane one left in the lot.

It was starting to drive him mad.

Whenever the awkwardness became too much for him to handle, James went into hiding with Lily. She listened to his concerns and offered some advice that was at times helpful, but mostly he just liked that she was there. James found his only contentment since New Years in holding and kissing Lily, which she was very happy to accommodate him with.

James was miserable, save for everything Lily.

Pity she was off for a stroll with Remus before the conference was scheduled. She was probably just making sure Remus was alright and clearing the air now that she knew his secret.

James also wagered she was also probably a little tired of listening to him whine.

Peter was teaching Arabella Wizard's chess since she had managed to attend Hogwarts for six years and never bothered to learn how to play a proper game. She found it brutal.

Hardcore Quidditch fan, but Wizard's chess, THAT was brutal.

It amused James to know that Arabella had no qualms about him being body checked off a broom so long as a couple charmed game pieces didn't suffer needlessly. It was probably good she wasn't doting on Remus and mingling with someone who didn't expect her to cheer them up. Still, Arabella's usually chipper mood was often infectious and she was drawing Peter out of his quiet disposition slowly, but noticeably.

James missed Sirius.

It wasn't the same in Gryffindor without him.

Nothing was the same without Sirius.

"James is worried about you." Lily reported to Remus as they strode the path near the lake.

"He shouldn't, I'm fine." Remus replied.

"Are you?" Lily pressed.

"I will be." Remus assured with a smile that lacked confidence. "I'm just sorting some things out for myself. It's not fair you all are getting the brunt. I'm sorry."

"You always hurt the ones you love." Lily shrugged. "They typically don't fault you either."

"That's what I'm worried about. Hurting the ones I love." Remus glanced to Lily. "I'm always worried about that."

"A measure of concern IS healthy, but you're the most composed person I know, Remus." Lily patted him on his uninjured shoulder. "More so than even Severus Snape."

"Ah yes, Gitface." Remus commented in a dark tone. "Sorry, I know you're mates but I've never met a man more fond of kicking people when they're down, unsporting wanker."

"I can see your point." Lily admitted. She was often spared Severus's crueler tendencies though Lily knew what Remus was talking about.

"I hope you won't think I'm out of turn for saying this, but I could have lost sleep over the prospects of you becoming an item with Snape." Remus confessed.

"You really think he's that much a terror?" Lily asked almost rhetorically.

"I'd tell you EXACTLY what I thought if I didn't know my Mother would weep uncontrollably in knowing I possessed such a vulgar tongue." Remus joked. "Seriously, I imagine there's a lot more to Snape than his grimy surface but I think he would have been bad news for a sweet girl like you overall. He'd never appreciate what he was lucky enough to be a part of. James, well, he's a bit of a prat but he's no fool. He knows how grand he has it and I don't reckon he'll ever forget."

"Thanks." It felt good to have one of James's closest friends give such kind approval. "You and Arabella, bit unexpected but a welcomed surprise."

"I'm happy with it." Remus smiled.

"When did you first start fancying her?" Lily smiled back.

"Oh, I imagine I always did somewhat. How could you not with a funny, pretty girl like Arabella?" Remus mused. "I just found myself thinking James was mad for overlooking such a lovely person like Arabella when she fancied him earlier on and thought I'd jump at an opportunity like that in a heartbeat. That's when I figured I wasn't so platonically inclined with our charming Miss Figg. I couldn't ask her to the ball because she was off with James and he could use the cheer and I didn't want to lead on any other girl by asking them exclusively along."

Remus threw a funny smirk her way.

"Bloody lucky for James he settled down with you that night, the mopey git. I was this close to pummeling him and leaving him underneath a table somewhere for the House Elves to find later on."

Lily had to laugh, before she became conscious of how personal this conversation might be.

"I hope I'm not prying." Lily apologized.

"Please, this is polite conversation. You should hear what I have to go through with James and Sir – the others." Lily flinched at Remus's cold expression.

"I know you don't want to talk about it. I can't blame you, Sirius was unforgivable." Lily started cautiously. "But do you think you might ever? Will you ever be able to forgive Sirius?"

Remus exhaled audibly as he looked to the sky before glancing down at Lily.

"I'm UNSPEAKABLY mad at Sirius right now; more so than I've been with another human being in all my life. What makes things worse is he's one of my best mates. If Sirius was any other person aside from the one I shared my adolescence with I'd probably go to my grave despising him." Remus explained.

"So what will you do?" Lily questioned sympathetically.

"Eventually, I'll forgive him. Just, don't ask me to do it today Lily." Remus sighed before smiling. "I hate disappointing nice, pretty girls."

Lily smiled and felt sorry for anyone deprived of Remus Lupin's friendship.

"We should hurry back to the castle." Remus suggested. "I imagine the carriages should be along if they're not here already."

"You're right."

Lily considered how weird it would be to meet the parents of most her friends under such troubling circumstances. A part of her looked forward to the introductions and a part of her dreaded it.

It was going to be a bizarre day.

At a quarter to eleven, Professor McGonagall entered the Gryffindor common room and instructed Peter and James to come along with her. After explaining that Lily and Remus were out on a walk, McGonagall nodded and informed them that their parents and guardians had arrived for the conference and she would see them along. Following behind Professor McGonagall, James and Peter found themselves being led into a section of the castle almost exclusively occupied by the faculty.

"So as not to draw any attention to the meeting, we've arranged for you all to congregate in the faculty lounge until Professor Dumbledore is able to join us." McGonagall explained. "We will all sit down in the administrative conference area at noon. Until then, our Headmaster has felt it would be a good gesture to have an early lunch and time for you to talk with your parents and those of your peers."

Stopping in front of a set of doors, Professor McGonagall opened them for the boys and motioned for them to step in.

"I shall locate Mr. Lupin and Miss Evans. Until then, remain here." McGonagall instructed.

The lounge was reasonably spacious with several charms and couches placed throughout. Its comfortable atmosphere was not unlike the homey Gryffindor commons. On the several tables occupying the room, sandwiches and arrangements of fruits and appetizers were made available along with a variety of beverages.

Snape was already present. He and Professor Heilsing were speaking with what James assumed were his parents. His Mother was a fairly attractive, willowy brunette with an expression on her face that suggested something amusing had occurred to her but she had no desire to share. His Father appeared to be where Snape earned a majority of his appearance; pale, dark, and stern looking. The only unique addition to Mr. Snape was his neatly kempt goatee.

The Lupins were present, including Remus's younger brother Romulus. Remus always appeared to take after his Mother, who was slender and placid looking. Mr. Lupin was more broad shouldered than his eldest Son but had the same prematurely sandy graying hair. Mrs. Lupin was presently coaxing her five year old child to eat his sandwich in a proper fashion while Mr. Lupin was holding a conversation with Peter's Mother, Mrs. Pettigrew.

Mrs. Pettigrew was blonde and stout like Peter; they also shared the same watering eyes. Peter's Mother was a widow for almost fourteen years whom, instead of giving thought of remarrying, decided to invest all her energy into doting on her only child. She was exceptionally overbearing and Peter usually sought safety with Sirius or James during breaks for Hogwarts.

Frank Longbottom was there on James's behalf. Still about average build, Frank looked like he had put on a few extra pounds since he had last seen his guardian which was probably the direct result of his wife Martha's home cooking and small, but successful bakery. He was presently speaking with another couple.

Although he had never met them, James guessed they must be Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Not only because they were the only people he didn't recognize but they looked like just like the pictures in his Muggle-Studies textbook. James was trying to pick out Lily's features between the two, catching a glimpse of green eyes on Mr. Evans and a fair complexion to his wife. Although not an unattractive couple, James guessed that Lily's astonishing beauty must be as recessive to her family line as her magical abilities.

None of the Black family was present from what James could see. Perplexed by this, James imagined the Blacks were beyond cross with their Son, but he hadn't assumed none of them would come to speak on his behalf in the meeting that would soon follow. Hoping that they were simply running a bit late, James said goodbye to Peter and made his way over to Frank and Lily's parents, waving to the Lupins as he passed.

James felt suddenly nervous. This was the first time he'd be meeting Lily's parents and he certainly would have preferred if it were under different circumstances. He wasn't sure if Lily had mentioned their relationship to her Mother and Father yet, after all it had only been official for just two days. Conscious that they were Muggles, James was determined to make a sincere effort not to say something too unique to the Wizarding culture; he'd hate to be seen as the odd-ball dating their daughter.

Wishing he had a hope in Hell of making his hair presentable, James threw on his most charming smile and joined Frank.

"James! There you are!" Frank greeted warmly as he put an arm around James's shoulders. "I'd like you to meet Jacob and Rose Evans, Lily's parents. This is James Potter."

Mr. Evans extended his hand, which James shook as he exchanged polite hellos with Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

"This is almost awkward." Mrs. Evans smiled. "Lily's mentioned you a few times in letters home and in Professor Dumbledore's recent letter explaining the situation; well, I'm thrilled to meet you James."

"Absolutely!" Mr. Evans agreed. "We owe a bit of thanks to both you and Severus Snape for helping Lily out a couple nights ago. She's very lucky to have gotten off as light as she did and even luckier to have the friends she does."

"Oh, well, it was nothing, Sir. Lily would have done the same for me." James fidgeted a bit, causing Frank to laugh.

"James is the modest type, you'll have to forgive him." Frank explained.

"Where is Lily?" Rose Evans peered around. "I would have thought she'd come in with the other Gryffindors."

"Right here, Mum." Lily announced as she joined the group. James smiled to her and nodded to Remus who was going over to greet his own family.

Romulus darted from his Mother, spilling his plate of food onto the floor, much to her agitation, so he could leap on his older brother in manic joy.

"Remus,wemissedyouatChristmas!Whydidn'tyoucomehome?Imadeafortinthesnowtoplayinandeverything!" Romulus squealed as Remus lifted his brother up to his eye level, nodding along. He brought the two of them over to his parents, kissing his Mum on the cheek and smiling at his Dad while Romulus flailed.

Turning back to the Evans, Lily had just finished greeting her own parents with hugs and kisses.

"This is Frank Longbottom." James gestured for Lily. "He's my guardian. Frank, Lily Evans."

"It's an outright pleasure, Lily!" Frank shook her hand enthusiastically. Lily took it all with a smile.

"Likewise." She assured, turning to her parents. "I'm assuming you met James then."

"Just, yes." Jacob Evans nodded.

"I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention this," Lily glanced hesitantly at James. "James and I are seeing one another, as more than friends I mean."

Mr. and Mrs. Evans exchanged some looks between them before turning back to their daughter. Frank patted James on the back.

"Finally asked her out, eh?" Frank beamed, causing James to blush slightly.

"Yeah, well –" James had nothing.

"I should have suspected something since at least a paragraph of every Owl you sent to us since school started was devoted to the life and times of James Potter." Mrs. Evans smiled at her daughter, causing Lily to blush more than slightly.

"Yes, well – " Lily had a whole lot of nothing.

"So how much have you been seeing of one another?" Mr. Evans asked James.

That sounded like a trick question to James.

"Well, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans; we've been a casual sort of friends for years, then got to know one another better these past few months. We only really started dating just after Christmas." James explained before adding. "Officially New Years."

"I would have mentioned it, but, well a lot's been going on." Lily stated apologetically.

"Oh I would much rather hear this in person than through the post." Rose Evans shook her head. "Good for you, dear; if James is half the young man Frank has talked him up to be your Father and I couldn't be happier."

Mr. Evans looked as though he could be a bit happier but smiled and nodded along with his wife's words. Understanding the man's plight, James realized he probably wouldn't wish beautiful daughters on his worst enemy since he could only imagine the amount of worry and loss that came with relinquishing them to some tall, scruffy haired boy with a dizzy grin. James couldn't take this personally since he was, after all, the deplorable, manipulative, home wrecker with only one thing constantly going though his mind whenever Lily was in his presence:

You know, Lily's boyfriend.

Professor Heilsing had just excused herself from the Snapes to go speak with the Lupins as well as the other parents present. Erinyes Snape didn't seem at all burdened with her absence and Arcanus Snape retained his usual aloof interest in what was happening about him. Severus felt himself relax ever so slightly with Heilsing no longer over his shoulder, discussing Slytherin House matters and common friends in the Ministry.

Surveying the room, Mrs. Snape's eyes stopped on Constance Pettigrew as she fussed with Peter's part and chided him about a wrinkle in the cuff of his slacks.

"Arcanus, what was the conversation we were having in the carriage ride up to the school?" Mrs. Snape upturned her nose slightly as she turned to smirk at her husband. "You know the one about how if I continue to coddle our Son as much as I do, he will mature with a crippled sense of individuality?"

"You have made your point, Erinyes." Mr. Snape replied without amusement. Severus's Father hated glaring examples of when he was incorrect.

"You know Severus, when your Father was associated with my family, he chose to court me rather than my other sisters because he found me to be the least petty of us three." Erinyes Snape said ironically.

"Makes one appreciate what the competition must have been like." Aracanus Snape offered one of his rare, brittle dry jokes.

Severus smirked.

To the untrained eye, many would assume that his parents hated one another; however, that was entirely inaccurate. They had a deep respect for one another, like long-term partners in a successfully running venture. Mother's social skills with Father's intellect. They managed to amuse one another in their own ways and were content in their passionless, comfortable arrangement.

Out of the corner of his eye, Severus noticed Lily and, presumably, her parents making their way over. Lily's expression was friendly but her eyes noted she was uncertain as to how good of an idea this was.

Silly girl.

Don't you know Mother can smell fear and Father probably wouldn't notice if your hair caught fire?

"Mr. and Mrs. Snape? I'm Jacob Evans and this is my wife, Rose." Lily's Father introduced himself. "And, of course, our daughter Lily."

"Of course she is." Arcanus Snape nodded stiffly with a probing glance of Lily.

"Charmed." Erinyes Snape responded better with a small smile. "It's always an occasion when we meet Severus's friends and their parents."

"Yes, quite an occasion." Rose Evans politely smiled. "We just wanted to extend our deepest thanks to your Son for coming to our daughter's assistance on New Years."

Mrs. Evans smiled appreciatively at Severus, he felt himself become rigid at the sincere gratitude. Although it wasn't unwarranted, Severus hadn't really expected to receive thanks for his efforts. Feeling his Mother's long fingers wrapped over his shoulder, Severus sought a response.

"Not at all." Severus replied. Lily glanced remorsefully to him, evidently aware of how this was probably making him uncomfortable.

"You certainly keep modest company, Lily." Jacob smiled as he put a hand on his own daughter's shoulder.

"I've always attempted to instill our Severus to not be dependant on the praise of others. After all, one's sense of self-esteem shouldn't be passed to them as though it were sweets for a child." Erinyes Snape informed, still smiling. Severus listened to his Mother treat the conversation with the same manner a cat would live mice.

"Well that is certainly an important lesson." Rose Evans nodded, evidently unsure of what the correct response was.

There were few with Mother.

Mr. Snape remained silent, studying Lily as though she were an elaborate enigma. He did that at times he was introduced to someone new. Severus wasn't sure if it was for purposes of intimidation or if his Father was really just that interested in a particular person near him. To her credit, Lily neither commented nor acknowledged the unusual attention openly, but a few swift glanced towards his Father told Severus she was aware. Her parents, on the other hand, appeared to be oblivious since Mother drew their attention away from her husband as she had the habit of doing.

Not exactly embarrassed by his parent's behavior to Lily's since he was more than immune to this sort of interaction by now, Severus did feel it was slightly unfair since they were, after all, just Muggles attempting to be gracious in a world they knew little of.

Severus knew his Mother had finally become bored with the Evans when she said.

"You must meet the Lupins! Lovely family, their Son is the one we're all here to discuss you know. If I recall correctly, I believe they've only been considered a Wizarding family for a few generations. Muggles like yourselves before that."

"We should probably say hello." Jacob Evans forced a smile, accepting the invitation out. "It was good to meet the both of you."

"A pleasure as well." Erinyes smile had yet to faultier. Arcanus simply nodded, finally removing his black eyes from Lily. Mrs. Snape turned her head quickly to the Evans daughter. "That goes for you also, Lily."

"Thank you, Mrs. Snape, Mr. Snape. Goodbye Severus." Lily cautiously returned as she allowed her parents to lead her off to the Lupins.

"Must you sharpen your claws on everything that wanders across your path, Mother?" Severus inquired once he was sure they were out of earshot.

"Yes it keeps me in form, darling." Erinyes eyes were like a hawk's on the Evans backs. "Are you a really friends with that girl?"

"Yes." Severus replied, ignoring his Mother's disapproving look.

While his Father's side had few prejudices of the Muggle-born in general, his Mother's branch of the family had far more antiquated opinions regarding Wizarding class structure. Arcanus Snape stared at his Son, evidently pondering something in the back of his mind that he didn't care to announce.

"Not your usual sort of company, Severus. Soft spoken, awkward, I was half confident I would get to watch her wilt right in front of me. I admit I simply do not see the appeal." Mrs. Snape's critiqued. Severus knew his Mother was just being catty since, unless blind, anyone could find a superficial draw for Lily Evans.

"Yes." Mr. Snape joined the discussion. "Why not explain it to your Mother what the young Miss Evans contributes for you to associate with her?"

Inwardly Severus groaned. The only thing worse than his Mother's pedigree mentality rearing its ugly head in his social life was his Father's silky toned inquiries that hinted he was more than aware of what the answer might be to the questions he asked. It was just his way of amusing himself by forcing his only Son to defend his every thought and gesture, as per usual.

He was, after all, the sole product of their mutually invested resources and rearing.

"Evans is the top female student of our Year, a Prefect for Gryffindor, is presently the most favorable candidate for Headgirl, and one of the most talented and popular witches in school. She's also an interesting resource for intelligent dialogue and has an accommodating personality." Severus reported, before turning to his Mother. "Is that satisfactory company for me to keep?"

Erinyes eyes narrowed, unhappy with her Son's response. She chose to stare at Lily rather than reply. Arcanus nodded in his traditionally thoughtful manner.

"Impressive, considering her lineage." Arcanus approved. "It's wise to make contacts such as that for later in life."

Mrs. Snape's smile returned.

"It would appear she's social networking rather effectively with the Potter heir." Severus's Mother nodded to Potter and Lily holding hands and smiling at one another.

"Yes they're dating." Severus confirmed to bring a little more joy to his Mother's half of the conversation.

"The Potters always did fancy their Muggle-born additions." Erinyes nodded.

"That boy should have more concerns than maintaining a girlfriend." Arcanus interjected cryptically.

"As I've said in the past." Severus agreed.

"We didn't tell Romulus you were hurt, he would have been so worried." Mrs. Lupin informed Remus as they watched Mr. Lupin introduce his younger brother to the Evans who thought he was absolutely adorable by their reaction.

"That's good, I'm fine." Remus reported to ease his Mother.

"Are you?" Silvia Lupin pressed.

"People seem to like to test this question today." Remus quipped before getting a little serious. "Some harm, some foul; I'll live."

"I don't understand what Sirius was thinking." Mrs. Lupin shook her head. "He was always the most…spirited of you four but even I wouldn't have thought he was capable of something – "

"He's not. Sirius is just an idiot. Happenstance just happened to bite him on the ass this time around along with a few other people." Remus replied quickly before offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry, shouldn't have sworn."

"I'll let you off with the circumstances being as they are." Mrs. Lupin smiled.

"Very sporting of you, Mum." Remus smiled back, before glancing at Romulus again. "Not that I'm not thrilled to see him, but what are we going to do with Romulus once the meeting's underway."

"I'm really not sure." Mrs. Lupin said apologetically. "This all happened so suddenly we couldn't arrange for anyone to take him on for a few days. We had to bring him along. Professor Dumbledore told us it would be just fine, but still, it's such an imposition."

"I think I know someone who'd love to be imposed upon for a bit." Remus commented thoughtfully. "Let me just run it by Professor McGonagall first."

"All right, dear." Silvia Lupin nodded as he Son walked off. Her husband, Aries Lupin, was currently shaking hands with Professor Heilsing for her help with Remus and caught a fragment of their conversation from where she was.

" – absolutely no trouble, Mr. Lupin. It's just a pity such a nice boy like your Son has a dreadful affliction as lycanthropy. I must commend both you and your wife for the effort you've placed in raising Remus, so many others in his position wouldn't see fit to rise above it but he's perfectly well adjusted all things considering. He's also one of the brightest students in my class."

"Mum." Remus tapped Mrs. Lupin on the shoulder. "I asked Professor McGonagall and she said it would be fine if we left him in the Gryffindor common room with Arabella and my other Housemates for the meeting."

"Arabella!" Mrs. Lupin's eyes lost their worried look for a moment. "She's the girl you've started seeing, isn't that right?"

"Yes, you'll like her." Remus assured. "Funny as Sirius, well-meaning like Peter, and outgoing like James. I probably shouldn't be comparing the reaSons I'm fond to her against my male friends should I?"

"Possibly, dear." Silvia Lupin chuckled as she glanced at her watch. "We have about half an hour before we're all supposed to sit down. Let's collect your Father and brother so we can be back in time."

Excusing themselves, the Lupins left the lounge and forced The Evans family and James to relocate themselves into new conversations. Avoiding the Snapes side of the room, Mr. and Mrs. Evans began to speak with Professor McGonagall while James and Lily joined Frank, Mrs. Pettigrew and Peter. The dialogue seemed to be mostly between Frank and Constance Pettigrew with the occasional "yes, Mum" thrown in by Peter. He looked grateful to Lily and James when they walked up.

"You're mum being you're mum?" James grinned at Peter underneath his breath.

"She's a genuine marvel." Peter muttered. "When we're alone she can't stop lecturing me about every little thing but the moment she has someone's ear she does her bloody best to convince them I walk on water when it suits my fancy."

The three snorted laughter between themselves as Frank's booming voice sliced in.

"Aurora Black!" Frank hastily excused himself from the conversation to greet Sirius's eldest sister who had just entered the lounge.

Most of the heads in the room turned at this. If it had been any other but the composed Aurora (or perhaps the flamboyant Sirius) James would have figured they'd be right embarrassed by this sudden attention. Aurora smiled broadly as she shook hands with Frank. Frank Longbottom and Aurora Black had been in the same Year of Hogwarts and were familiar friends.

"Frank, how are you? I haven't seen you since – " It occurred to Aurora that she hadn't seen Frank since the funeral for James's parents. "It's been a while. What have you been up to?"

"Got a great career going in the Ministry, fighting the good fight against You-Know-Who, and was married last spring." Frank beamed. "What about you? Last I heard you were with St. Mungos."

"Pretty much the same as you, save for the marriage part." Aurora reported.

"Now that's a trick if I ever heard one!" Frank laughed. "How does a grand witch like you manage to find herself single? I thought you'd have to hex them off you like you did back when we were at school!"

"You know us Blacks, the commitment phobic lot we are." Aurora smiled graciously. "Not a one amongst us in a steady relationship, pardoning my parents of course."

"Speaking of steady relationships." James suddenly felt he and Lily were about to be dragged into the conversation. "James here has landed himself Lily Evans."

"Is that so? Well congratulations James." Aurora turned between James and Lily before making polite introductory conversation with Lily. James found this a little awkward since he was introducing his present love with his prior infatuation.

"So are Madeline and Empyrean still delirious about one another?" Frank inquired about Aurora and Sirius's parents

Although the Black family had investments tied up in all sorts of avenues, their passion went into animal breeding. A section of their land was devoted to a menagerie of mystical creatures and their care. Mr. Black and their middle daughter, Celestine, oversaw most of the work at home while Mrs. Black was the head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Madeline Black was the enthusiastic type, like Sirius, though her husband was a far cry from stale himself. James had always wondered how they produced a daughter like Aurora with such a firm head on her shoulders or Acontiae, Sirius's remaining sister, who didn't seem to have much of a sense of humor at all.

"Yes, they've found a new hobby to bring them closer together." Aurora nodded.

"Harp on Aurora until she gets married." Frank guessed.

"Precisely." Aurora grinned. "Apparently twenty-five hinges on old maid to my parents."

"They're simply restless." A pale man with long blonde hair interjected as he joined the exchange. "I'm sure they'll relax once you've settled in a suitable relationship."

James recognized the man as Lucius Malfoy, another member of Aurora and Frank's Year.

"Hello Lucius." Frank stiffly welcomed with a forced smile. "What brings you here?"

"Dr. Black." Malfoy nodded towards Aurora. "Her parents have placed their confidence in us to resolve this situation on their behalf."

"I asked Lucius to help since he's a little more familiar with Ministry bureaucracy than myself and he was gracious enough to assist." Aurora smiled.

"Not at all, Aurora. It's entirely my pleasure." Malfoy loftily replied. "After all, we have a history. My family, yours. Not to mention our own."

James missed Sirius and whatever insult he'd be throwing at Malfoy this moment. Knowing that Sirius had no love of the Malfoys and was sure that they regarded him with about as much affection, James was guessing that Malfoy was only present to keep on good terms with either Sirius's sister or his Mother.

Acknowledging James and Lily with only a glance, Malfoy took Aurora's hand and kissed the top of it.

"I see the Snapes are here." Malfoy observed. "I believe I shall say hello. Would you care to join me?"

"I'll be along in a moment." Aurora assured. Malfoy nodded to the group and walked away without a second glance.

"I'd hate to guess what Sirius would say to all that." James mumbled to Aurora.

"I would hope it would be in some way affiliated with gratitude." Aurora patted James on the shoulder as she watched Malfoy talk with the Snapes. "Lucius Malfoy has the benefit of friends and contacts that might keep Sirius out of the worst sort of trouble."

"Well as much as it may be helping you now, Aura, that was one social circle I would have liked to see you fall out of." Frank admitted with a bit of concern as he turned back to Aurora. "I know you were mates in school, but my department is investigating the Malfoys for connection to He-who-must-not-be-named. I'd hate to see you tangled up in their sordid affairs, Luv."

"Your concern is always appreciated Frank." Was all Aurora would say on the matter.

"How is Sirius?" Lily asked. He had only been gone a day but it seemed longer without his noticeable influence.

"Upset, but I think he'll be fine." Aurora stated. "What about Remus?"

"Still angry, but he's making an attempt to get past it." Lily informed.

"I'll pass that along to Sirius." Aurora nodded, before patting them each on the shoulder and walking off to the opposite side of the room. "I should say hello to the Snapes."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter muttered under his breath to James. "They look like they feed off the life of the party just to maintain their own unnatural existences."

"Severus's Mother was completely condescending to mine and his Father managed to redefine creepy for me. He just kept staring at me like some odd specimen." Lily leaned in by James, careful not to look at the subject of the conversation. "I'm glad I met them in a way, though. It gives me a new appreciation for why Severus behaves the way he does with parents like that."

"Nice to know he gets all the pointers he'll ever need on being a maladjusted prat." James commented with a frown, prompting a more than disapproving look from Lily for his lack of sensitivity. That wasn't really his concern at the moment. James brow furrowed as he dared a glance at Mr. Snape. It was bad enough having Snape staring at Lily in his usual scrutinizing manner without his Father getting in on it.

Suddenly, James turned to address Frank.

"You work in the Ministry, Frank. You know anything about Snape's dad." James demanded.

"We work in different departments, but I know enough about Arcanus Snape to not want much to do with him." Frank exhaled audibly. "Strange man all around, but he's supposedly very brilliant; he works with Mysteries. I catch a rumor now and then that he's moderately clairvoyant, but that's just talk from people who try to rationalize how he can manage to be such a shrewd and effective problem-solver."

Frank glanced to Lily with a slight amount of concern.

"I can't say what Arcanus Snape was trying to figure when he had his eye on you, but Snapes aren't known for taking interest in things lightly." Frank cautioned. It was a toss up between who appeared more startled by this comment, Lily or James. Frank cracked a smile and put a hand on each their shoulders. "Lighten up, you two! You're acting like I said he was fixing to hex you both. If anything he was just trying to intimidate you or was curious by a Muggle-born witch or how a pretty girl like Lily can tolerate his Son."

"Yeah, that's DEFINATELY a mystery worthy of his attentions!" James smirked.

"I'm certainly not having much luck with it." Frank admitted with a chuckle, causing him and James to laugh harder.

Lily made a disgruntled noise at how marvelously James Potter and Frank Longbottom fueled one another's ignorance. Unwilling to just sit and listen to them run Severus and his family in the ground (but possessing no particular desire to defend them at the moment either) Lily turned to Peter, who was smiling with Frank and James's jokes.

"Peter, why don't you introduce me to your Mother?" Lily requested curtly. Peter winced at this.

"But that will just give her an excuse to talk to us." Peter grumbled in protest but led her along with him anyway.

"Your parents are HERE?" Arabella studied Remus's face to see if he was joking with her. Satisfied that he was telling the truth, Arabella shook her head as she gestured to her herself. "No! I can't meet them like this! I'm an absolute mess!"

Remus's chestnut eyes ran Arabella over once from head to toe. She was clad in a Gryffindor House sweatshirt with loose slacks covering her legs. Her curly blond locks were bound in the ponytail bobbing from her head and only the faintest hint of make up accented her face. Remus had no idea what the hell she was prattling on about since she seemed more than fine to him. Granted, Arabella was by no means glamorous at the moment.

She looked attainable and that had its own appeal to Remus.

"You look lovely." Remus assured, Arabella appeared as though she were ready to argue before adding. "I swear I'll burn all your make-up if you utter another word on the matter, now come along."

Taking her by the hands, Remus led her through the Portrait entrance out of the common room as she desperately attempted to adjust a few stray curls lining her face. Romulus raced up to his older brother the second he caught sight of him. Remus hoisted him up and gestured to Arabella with his free hand.

"Mum, Dad; this is Arabella Figg. She's the girl I told you I had started seeing." Remus introduced.

Arabella shook hands with Silvia and Aries Lupin as they all smiled and exchanged hellos. Arabella's smile was slightly awkward while Mr. and Mrs. Lupin flashed her approving ones.

"And this is Romulus, my five year old bother." Remus nodded to the child in his arm, smiling at him. "Say hi to Arabella, why don't you Romulus."

"Hullo." Romulus mumbled, stealing a glance at Arabella before hiding against his older brother's chest.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Arabella cooed. "Is he always this shy?"

"If only he were." Silvia Lupin shook her head. "Usually we can barely keep a reign on him."

"Very active boy." Mr. Lupin chimed in. "We long since figured Remus kept all our even temperament for himself, forcing Romulus to do without."

"Is it something I did?" Arabella asked in a worried tone, causing all the Lupins to laugh a bit.

"If it was, you'll have to teach me it sometime." Remus joked as he caught Romulus peeking out at Arabella. "Hey, what's up with you, mate?"

"She's very pretty." Romulus whispered shyly as he hugged closer to Remus's neck.

Again, the Lupins laughed and Arabella blushed a bit.

"That she is." Remus agreed, flashing a smile at Arabella. "But you'd best keep your hands off, I might share a lot of things with you but this is not one of them."

Setting Romulus down, Arabella stooped by the child.

"Remus asked me to watch you for a bit. Do you want to stay with me for a while and play?" Arabella enticed with a smile. Romulus nodded shyly.

"He should be fine." Remus assured, patting Arabella on the back as she stood up. "Just don't let him get too close to the fireplace and don't let him get a hold of a wand."

"Our dog spent forever on growing all his fur back." Mr. Lupin shook his head.

"Oh one more word of warning: he's a bit of a biter." Remus informed, ruffling Romulus's hair, jerking his fingers back as the five year old snapped at him playfully.

"I suppose there are worse failings in life." Arabella observed with a smile. "Well I'll leave you to be off then. Come along, Romulus, I'll show you the Gryffindor commons."

Turning to Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, Arabella offered a polite smile and added.

"It was very nice meeting the both of you."

"You, as well, Arabella." Aries Lupin assured.

"We'll all have to get together again sometime." Silvia Lupin promised.

After their brief goodbyes had been said, Arabella led the youngest Lupin through the Fat Lady Portrait as he beamed at her.

"When I grow up, I'm going to be a werewolf like my brother. Or a vampire. I haven't decided." Romulus declared, taking Arabella's hand as he looked quizzically at her. "Any suggestions?"

Dismissing this as a child's usual fantastic babble, Arabella pretended to give the matter some deep thought.

"I'd say go with the werewolf idea." Arabella encouraged. "I reckon it would be like a big teddy bear to cuddle against and you don't have to worry about anyone giving you trouble if you're a wolf that's the size of a shed. Oh, I'd let people ride around on me too when they got tired of walking!"

As the portrait closed the entrance into Gryffindor tower, Remus turned to his parents who were giving him a quizzical look.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't her best subject." Remus stated.

"Ah." Mr. and Mrs. Lupin replied in unison.

"Still; a lovely girl." Remus smiled.

"She does seem nice." Mr. Lupin nodded.

"We'll have to get to know her a bit better." Silvia Lupin offered. "When it's under different circumstances."

"So, does she like canines?" Aries Lupin thought back to Arabella's interpretation of a werewolf as the headed back to the lounge.

"Cat person." Remus laughed. "I'm in for a lot of grief with this one once I put her in the loop."

Caught up in her usual social networking, while dragging her husband along for the ride, Erinyes Snape and Aurora Black exchanged word of mouth in the Wizarding world since both were firmly embedded in the Pure-Blood vain of it.

Uninterested in this current conversation, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape stepped off to the side to begin their own.

"I wasn't aware that you were familiar with Aurora." Lucius coolly commented.

"We only met yesterday. She represented the Ministry in an inquiry of her brother's actions and dictated my account of it." Severus offered his unimpressive explanation. Thinking back to the Memoirs book in the Library, Severus added. "But you attended the same Year with her when you were enrolled at Hogwarts, did you not?"

"Yes. She was a Ravenclaw. I, of course, was a Slytherin. Still, interhouse politics didn't prevent us from interacting on friendly terms." Lucius nodded. Severus was tempted to inquire why Aurora had been compelled to slap him nearly a decade ago, but resisted somehow.

"If I may ask, why are you in her company today?" Severus questioned. "I would have thought you'd be lending your support to my Father's family rather than the Blacks."

"I might have if Arcanus had requested it." Lucius replied. "Severus, you must understand that this isn't meant to be an affront against you or your family. The Malfoys are connected with many Wizarding families, the Blacks happen to be one of them. They asked a favor and I was content to oblige."

Pale eyes wondered the room as he talked; this was a habit of Lucius's. Severus wasn't entirely sure if this was to keep himself aware of what was happening around him or if he was method of constantly looking for a means out of a discussion.

"So you here to argue Sirius Black off the hook then?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Hardly anything so unreasonable." Lucius smirked a bit as he returned his attention to Severus. "Aurora will do all the talking on her brother's behalf, I'm merely present to ensure this the boy is justly dealt with."

"And I'll wager the fact Black's Mother is a Ministry head and his eldest sister is an up-and-comer helped to nudge your sense of fair-play." Severus observed in an aloof tone. Nodding slightly towards Aurora, Severus's black eyes fixed on Lucius. "Or is Dr. Black alone providing more than enough incentive for your assistance."

"One day you'll understand the merit of being on hospitable terms with well-bred Witches." A smile broadened slightly against Lucius's lips.

"I'm seventeen, Lucius. I think that day has arrived and passed." Severus smiled a bit himself. "So you two are…attached?"

"We escort each other to events and functions on occasion." Lucius clarified. "It's very casual since it suits the both of us but it remains implied enough that I don't have to worry about any serious competitors once I decide to formalize things."

"Indeed?" Severus felt his eyes drift to Aurora. "When you decide?"

Mrs. Snape caught notice of his gaze, prompting Severus to immediately correct it back onto Lucius before he roused her suspicions further.

"Well a man has to make sure he is securely established in his chosen profession before he becomes distracted with the additional responsibilities inherited with family life." Lucius explained matter-of-factly. "While I may have a considerable amount of wealth and influence based on my family name alone I don't wish to be thought of some ambitionless heir who will contribute nothing to his forbearers' legacy."

Severus noticed Lucius distinctly stare at James Potter as he made this comment. Potter seemed to take note of his stare, but only glared before turning back to his dialogue with Frank Longbottom.

"One can never have too many close contacts in a political arena and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have another strong contender in the Ministry as a spouse." Severus thought he grasped the cunning in Lucius logic until he began to chuckle, shaking his blonde mane with him.

"I'm in the market for a wife Severus, not a rival. The LAST thing I need to be concerned about is competing with my own spouse for prestige and power." Lucius responded as though Severus had just made some ironic joke. Severus failed to see the humor, though he admittedly wasn't positively archaic in all his ideologies. "You will eventually understand the necessity of making sure all your affairs are in order, such as where you can expect your wife to be and what you expect her to be doing there."

"If I was inclined to acquire one, I would prefer a spouse whom I could relate to beyond that of common day exchanges." Severus decided, thinking of the lull in dialogue between his own Parents. Catching Lucius's disapproving eye, Severus added softly so as not to make enemies of his Father's associates. "However, I'm a long ways off from considering such matters. Who can say what my taste will be refined to by then?"

Severus would have wished Lucius luck in domesticating Aurora Black but knew it would be a fools' errand. He didn't see a self-assured witch like Aurora who seemed to be managing more than fine on her own suddenly requiring a man to arrange all her affairs and every thought so it suited him better. However, seeing no fruitful outcome in pursuing this conversation, Severus changed over to a new one.

"Have you met Professor Heilsing, the current Head of Slytherin?" Severus investigated.

"Ah yes." The smile dropped slightly for Lucius's lips. "An interesting selection for Dumbledore's part. There have been…reservations about how she is presently overseeing the House."

"She behaves as though she was the warden and we were her inmates." Severus reported dispassionately.

"It's a pity someone with a disposition similar to our own didn't acquire the position." Lucius mused. "A survivor of Slytherin, someone who understands and encourages the subtle nuance that shapes the character of the leaders of the Wizarding world. Succeeding in Slytherin prepares us for success in the world outside of Hogwarts. It's what defines our formative years."

It was true. Slytherin knew nothing of Hufflepuff's nurturing or sportsmanship, Gryffindor's chivalry and bonds, or Ravenclaw's restrain and cooperativeness. To be a Slytherin meant keeping the world at arm's length. The realization that those closest to you had the most power to harm you. Allies were adversaries who had yet to exploit their opportunities against you. Concern gave way to suspicion and only your true friends would have the decency to stab you in the front. Withstanding the slings and arrows of Slytherin created the fortitude need to become an influential and intimidating wizard.

Completely Darwinian, completely fair.

"I couldn't agree more." Severus smiled faintly.

Albus Dumbledore's presence in the room drew the attention of all its remaining occupants.

"I would first like to thank all of you for arriving on such short notice and apologize for any inconvenience this may had causes any of you." Smiling graciously to welcome all his guests, Dumbledore scanned the room thoughtfully as he spoke. "Now that you have all had a chance to unwind from your long journey, I would ask all of you to join me in the conference room we have prepared to address the matter at hand. After which, I invite you to stay for dinner and spend a few more hours with your children and this business behind you."

Professors McGonagall and Heilsing helped to usher the parents and students along as they followed Professor Dumbledore to the conference room.

Arranged around a large, circular table, Professors Heilsing and McGonagall sat on either side of Dumbledore as most of the parents and guardians did the same with their child. The atmosphere hadn't been entirely light in the lounge but the looming discussion appeared to make everyone visibly tense.

"I trust you have all had a chance to become acquainted with one another and would find my introducing all of you to be redundant task?" When no one corrected him of this assumption, Professor Dumbledore decided to proceed. "Although what I am about to say, with the assistance of both Professor Minerva McGonagall and Professor Vigilia Heilsing, is most certainly superfluous after the lengthy Owls you have all received, I feel it is a matter worth repeating nonetheless."

Some of the parents, as well as Remus, responded with startled expression or those of disbelief. The idea that their children had been involved in such a dramatic incident was surreal and some appeared more than surprised by the actions of their child or their friends. For those who had been involved in the happenings of that night, it was almost bizarre to hear such vivid memories summarized into a single monologue. It made it seem like what they had lived through was nothing more than a scripted sequence of events.

"As you all have been informed, once again, of the details of what had occurred New Years Eve, I felt it would be wise to have us all come together, face to face, and address the concerns. I do not wish for any questions or concerns to linger when we are in a position to remedy them today." Dumbledore finished. "Would anyone care to begin?"

Erinyes Snape leaned in, whispering something to her husband as Severus sat motionless between them. After this hushed exchange, Arcanus Snape turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"And, the boy, Sirius Black. Why is he not available to speak on his own behalf? To justify his action against my Son and his peers?" Mr. Snape inquired in a soft voice.

Aurora Black addressed the question.

"Sirius Black has made several personal and written apologies to the students involved, your Son included. It was felt that little would be achieved by having him present during this meeting." Aurora explained. "Currently, my colleagues, Analysts in the Department of Magical Catastrophes, are working with Mr. Black to ensure we will not be having a repeat of this incident."

"I see." Mr. Snape nodded. "And was this a method you selected as a psychiatrist or as Black's sister?"

Lucius Malfoy folded his hands in front of him.

"Dr. Black is a fully accredited professional in her field, Arcanus. Her decision was not made lightly and was approved by several of her superiors as the most appropriate course of action." Lucius assured.

"When will Sirius Black be returning to Hogwarts?" Constance Pettigrew demanded.

"Three days after classes resume session." Aurora answered.

"I think all of us would be curious to know what disciplinary measures Mr. Black will be facing once he returns." Jacob Evans stated as he put a hand on Lily's shoulder. He was still jarred by his daughter being cursed by someone she regarded as a friend.

"The strictest we can afford, Mr. Evans, I assure you." Professor McGonagall spoke. "All extracurricular activities are prohibited to Mr. Black or will be under my personal supervision if required to attend. His time spent here is expected to be devoted to his studies and precious little else. As the Head of his House, I assure you that Sirius Black will be walking on a short leash through the halls of Hogwarts for the remainder of the year."

"I'm not entirely sure I understand why he's walking these halls at all." Erinyes Snape commented. "This sort of behavior is an indication of what Sirius Black is capable of. This is the beginning of the problems he may pose, not the end. Are you comfortable, as educators responsible for the well-being of hundreds of students, leaving such a possibility open?"

"I whole-heartedly trust Sirius Black's testimony that harming Severus Snape wasn't his intention and I do not consider him to be a deliberate threat to any of our students." Professor Dumbledore stated firmly. "This is a school filled with many young people who have yet to fully grasp sound judgment. Many magical mishaps and even everyday ones occur by virtually all our students at one point or another. I do not believe in expelling a child for an accident or a mistake."

"You call baiting my Son into the path of a vicious monster a mistake?" Erinyes Snape challenged.

"I'll thank you not to refer to MY Son as a monster, Madam." Aries Lupin glared towards Mrs. Snape. Remus patted his Father on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Dad. Don't worry about it." Remus insisted.

"She's being rude." Mr. Lupin turned his attention away from the Snapes.

"She's being observant." Severus defended his Mother.

Remus simply stared at Severus. Lily's mouth fell open and James suddenly developed a twitch. Peter was the only one who bothered to speak what everyone else was thinking.

"Yeah well maybe people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Constance Pettigrew elbowed her Son as she stared crossly at him. Peter folded his arms in protest but said nothing further. James, Aurora, Frank, and the Lupins gave brief, appreciative smiles in his direction.

"I believe the point my wife is attempting to convey is that Sirius Black intentionally and negligently acted out in a way most other children would not be possessed to." Arcanus Snape interpreted in his detached voice. This was somewhat jarring since few have ever heard Severus's Father speak at such length. "As much as the boy would like to pass off his delinquency as a prank, such juvenile antics are typically fashioned only to frustrate or embarrass another. I think we can all recognize that the results of its success would have been much more than either of those reactions. If Mr. Black would consider such a plot nothing more devastating than a mere joke, I do not believe he is sound-minded enough to ever contribute anything other than devastation to our world and its ways."

"My brother is NOT a criminal." Aurora Black locked eyes with Arcanus Snape.

"Is that your professional assessment, Doctor?" Arcanus Snape raised an eyebrow, prompting his wife to smile slightly. Aurora was prepared to reply, but Lucius Malfoy whispered something to her that persuaded her to refrain.

"So what if it isn't?" James spoke up. "She's known Sirius his entire life and I'm his best friend. If we have the confidence that Sirius isn't some horrible menace to society that should be a strong indication in his favor."

"Why not allow your guardian to handle your position in all this?" Mrs. Snape recommended coldly.

"Because Frank doesn't know Sirius like myself or Aurora. And, more importantly, neither do you. You probably didn't even know Sirius Black existed until a couple days ago and you're off painting him as some cold-blooded murderer. Well you're wrong! I'd trust Sirius with my life, even after all this." James informed pointedly. Frank, along with many others in the room, looked surprise by this outburst but he didn't bother to restrain him either. "I don't need Frank to interpret any petty hissing for ME while I hide behind some plastered smile."

Erinyes and Severus Snape's black eyes flared. Severus leaned forward to throw some retort at James but his Mother pulled him back. Her head jerked towards Professor Dumbledore.

"With friends like these, Headmaster, you expect Black to restrain himself?" Erinyes glowered. "I DEMAND Sirius Black be expelled."

"I think you're being extreme. He's a boy who suffered a lapse in judgment that he's currently making amends for." Frank Longbottom reaSoned.

"You deal with this sort every day, Mr. Longbottom." Arcanus Snape observed. "Is sixteen not old enough to be capable of illicit behavior? Tell me then, when exactly do Wizards go bad? Would your job not be easier if the criminals you pursue were not so well versed in magic?"

"I don't deal with people like Sirius Black." Frank narrowed his eyes.

Dumbledore appeared lost in thought as the discussion rolled around him unmonitored. It was a long moment before he finally addressed the rest of the table.

"Perhaps the Snapes have a point that I have not considered." Professor Dumbledore announced in a hush voice.

The room fell silent with this as all stared at Dumbledore. Several people present, such as Lily, James, Aurora, Frank, Peter, and Professor McGonagall appeared as though they were about to leap to their feet in protest. Mrs. Pettigrew and the Evans seemed uncertain as to how to react. The Lupins remained as silent as they had most of the meeting, exchanging meaningful looks between the three of them. The Snapes had vindicated expressions flickering out beneath their aloof demeanors. Professor Heilsing and Lucius Malfoy gave away nothing in their stoic expression. As many were unwilling or unable to respond to this, Professor Dumbledore continued.

"There are many here today willing to come to the defense of Sirius Black, however, as the Snapes have so frequently pointed out there are circumstances that cannot be easily ignored. Whatever his intentions, Sirius Black willfully acted out against Severus Snape and exploited Remus Lupin in a manner we most certainly do not condone in our students to behavior. Since Severus Snape and Remus Lupin were the most grievously offended in this matter, if both deem Mr. Black is too dangerous to remain at Hogwarts then he shall be expelled." Professor Dumbledore decided.

"I fail to see how Lupin stood to suffer as much as myself." Severus interjected.

"You don't?" Frank Longbottom scoffed. "Why, his unfortunate secret would be exposed to the world. Poor boy would be a pariah for something he couldn't even help. That says nothing for how Remus might have been held accountable for anything that had happened to you even though he had nothing to do with it at all. And that's not even taking into account the personal guilt Remus would have been forced to carry around. His life could have ended just as much as yours."

Pulling Frank by the arm, closer to him, James gawked at his guardian.

"Did you think you were HELPING Sirius with that little speech?" James growled.

"I said nothing other than what is true, James." Frank corrected. "Sirius has a better chance to get this whole mess behind him if he has Remus at his side."

"Remus is furious with Sirius, Frank!" James countered. "And that says nothing for how his parents might feel."

Frank could only shake his head.

"It's a really ugly scene James, but you have to admit Sirius brought a lot of this on himself." Frank patted James on the back sympathetically. "I'm sorry, there's only so much either of us can do for him at this point."

The soft-spoken Lupins whispered between one another and were only audible to themselves. Abruptly, Mrs. Lupin turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"Would you excuse us, for a moment?" Silvia Lupin requested. "I think we should discuss this matter, as a family, in the hall."

"Of course, take as much time as you need." Dumbledore nodded. Lily, James, and Peter exchanged glances, as though questioning what there was to talk about. Silently, Remus and his parents exited the conference room and left the remaining members of the room to speculate what their decision would be.

With everyone enveloped in their own dialogues, Aurora Black turned to her supposed advisor.

"If I required a bump on a log, Lucius, I could have spared us both the trouble of having you out here and brought along some timber." Aurora Black spoke under her breath to Malfoy. "I thought you were going to help.

"I find restraining you from complicating things any more so to be an arduous task in and of itself." Lucius replied. "Keeping yourself calm and your temper in check will serve your Brother far better than making social enemies of the Snapes."

"I could absolutely care less at this moment." Aurora informed. "If I thought it would help Sirius out a fraction more, I'd ask Arcanus Snape to step outside for a duel this moment!"

"Calm down." Lucius ordered rather than requested. "The Snapes are close associates of mine; you will not embarrass us both by continuing this behavior. Your Brother will not be expelled, Aurora, even if both the Snapes and Lupins consent to such measures. I have a few favors available to me to ensure that."

"And there by gaining one with me?" Aurora observed Malfoy's Slytherin mentality as she attempted to compose herself.

"Oh, my dear, I think you'd be a little more indebted to me than that." Lucius smiled smugly. "After all, I'd be preserving your Brother's future."

Aurora said nothing in response as she waited for the Lupins to return.

"It's not fair for Professor Dumbledore to put this much pressure on Remus's decision." Mrs. Lupin shook her head to her husband. Outside the conference room, the Lupins stood in a circle facing one another. Presently, Remus had his arms folded over his chest as he kept his eyes cast to the ground.

"Silvia, the Headmaster just recognizes he's not a child and is capable of coming to a rational conclusion on his own." Mr. Lupin defended Dumbledore. Almost cautiously, both his parents turned their attention on their Son. "What do you want to do, Remus?"

"I'm not going to have Sirius expelled." Remus informed gruffly. "I didn't need to come out here to decide that."

Remus watched his parents exchange glances as though it were over his head. They always seemed to forget that he was taller than either of them in situations like this.

"Remus, we know that Sirius is your friend…" Mr. Lupin tentatively began. Remus's eyes sharply met his.

"Are you going to attempt to persuade me into going along with Snape?" Remus demanded with his voice dropping into a slight growl.

"No." Mrs. Lupin wrinkled her noise in distaste at the mention of this. "But we don't want to you to make a decision based solely on friendship, dear. You're Father and I have known Sirius for years and we're grateful he's been such a true friend to you in the past but recently…he doesn't seem like the Sirius we used to know."

"You boys are growing up." Mr. Lupin interjected. "Maybe even growing apart a bit. If you've noticed, Sirius has been going off in some direction that we should be aware of, be concerned about. If this sordid business is just the first indication of what else we might expect from Sirius later on, I don't want you to cover for him out of some sense of obligation."

"If I'm supposed to make a decision like an adult please don't talk to me like a child." Remus requested sternly. "Do you honestly think if I thought Sirius was the menace the Snapes dressed him up to be I'd overlook it? Sirius can be as thick as a boulder at times, but he never plots any farther than a punchline. He's a git, but I'm not going to have his wand broke over it."

"You're sure?" Mrs. Lupin confirmed.

In his heart, Remus knew he was right, but in the back of his mind there was a nagging suspicion of Sirius that he couldn't' shake. Rationalizing it as lingering feelings of betrayal and unresolved anger, Remus went with what his heart was advocating.

"Yeah…and in spite of the fact I'm not too fond of him at the moment, he's still my mate." Remus shrugged.

"Alright then." Aries Lupin patted his Son on the back. "Let's go see the colorful look on the Snape family's face once you break them this news."

With that, the Lupins reentered the conference room to announce their stance.

It took less than half an hour to finish the proceedings once Remus declared his intentions to support Sirius and wouldn't be persuaded or coerced otherwise. After the meeting was adjourned, Aurora Black and Lucius Malfoy said their farewells as both needed to return to London to tend to various matters. Mr. and Mrs. Snape decide to leave along with them as they had little desire to stay and dine with the other parents (in particular the Lupins).

Waiting in the Grand Hall for the carriages to arrive, Lucius Malfoy stepped off with Arcanus Snape to discuss various things with his wife Erinyes observing the conversation. Aurora approached Severus with a blank expression.

"How are things going for you, Severus?" Aurora politely inquired.

"I'm presently surprised you are willing to speak with me." Severus admitted.

"You mean after you and your parents tried your damnedest to expel my Brother?" Aurora guessed. "The world IS a funny place isn't it?"

Severus found this conversation uncomfortable. How she stood there, never wavering in tone or her eyes from his.

"I never pretended to like Black and I told you yesterday what I thought was needed to remedy the situation." Severus replied without inflection.

"No you didn't." Aurora agreed. "I wish I could say I'm sorry things didn't go well for you, but I'm not."

"Come over to gloat then?" Severus sneered.

A twitch jerked under Aurora's eyes.

"It would be simpler for you to assume that, wouldn't it? That I was petty, spiteful, and entirely out for my own interests. The world would probably be extraordinarily easy for you to maneuver if everyone was like that because it would warrant and justify your every suspicion and defense mechanism." Aurora probed.

"You're attempting to psychoanalyze me again, Doctor." Severus informed curtly.

"Attempt?" Aurora took a step forward and, to his surprise, Severus took a step back. "Severus, don't you know the more walls you throw up to block out others the clearer you come into focus? Delude yourself into believing you're elusive, that you're untouchable, but anyone who looks long and hard enough could read you like a book."

"You've known me for a day and you presume to have the slightest inkling of who I am?" Severus hissed. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"A great many people." Aurora's words came out hard. "You just happened to antagonize the wrong one of them today."

"For someone who mingles with Slytherin, you appear to be very thin-skinned and thick-headed when it comes to our methodologies." Severus noted. "Why did you allow my parents to get at you? Why did you need Malfoy here when his presence served no purpose you couldn't have seen to yourself? I might be guarded, Dr. Black, but at least I'm not so insecure that I allow strangers to provoke me or necessitate someone to hold my hand through the events of my life."

Aurora stared at Severus, as though she were chewing on his words. Severus wasn't sure if she was at a loss of how to reply or was clinging to what remaining about of professionalism she had managed to retain. It was probably fortunate that Lucius Malfoy approached the two with Aurora's winter cloak in hand.

"We should really be heading off now, Aurora." Malfoy announced as he helped her into her cloak. "Severus, it was good seeing you again. I'm sure we will run into one another sometime over spring holiday. For the time being, we'll take our leave of you so you'll have an opportunity to say farewell to your parents."

Turning to leave with Malfoy, Aurora glanced over her shoulders once more at Severus.

"You were right when you said your social skills leave something to be desired at times. Be that as it may, I still think you have a future as an Analyst." Aurora smiled in such a way that Severus was uncertain of whether she was teasing him or being sincere. "Take care of yourself, Severus Snape."

Pulling a hood over her raven head, Aurora Black departed with Malfoy into a lazy drifting snow and twilight sky.

Convinced that mystique was a collaborative conspiracy women maintain to perplex those around them, Severus walked over to his parents who were dressing into their winter cloaks themselves.

"This certainly isn't the Hogwarts your Father or I remember. I assure you when we attended in our respective years, werewolves and attempted murderers didn't just sit in class next to you. And that lecture about being tactful in regards to the Lupin boy's aberration!" Erinyes Snape glowered, bitter like a spoiled child who was just denied some indulgence.

"Be that as it may, we will be discrete as he requested." Arcanus Snape insisted softly as he extracted a ledger from his robes and began to examine his schedule for the rest of the week. "I and my career would certainly do well without Albus Dumbledore complicating our lives on account of gossip and petty grudges."

Purposefully, Mr. Snape darted his eyes between his wife and Son. Taking note that any insolence would not be tolerated in either of them, neither Severus nor Erinyes appeared particularly pleased with this reluctant agreement.

"Well, I will certainly feel a measure of relief once school is in session and all your House has returned. Winifred will be back; you'd be served well to have female companionship outside of Muggle-born witches with boyfriends and the sisters of your assailants." Mrs. Snape didn't bother with her usual cloak and dagger dialogue.

"Ease yourself, Mother, I'm not courting either." Severus muttered. His Mother retained an uncanny talent for interpreting reality in colorful manners to suit her opinions about everything and anything. Nonetheless, Erinyes Snape either didn't hear this or ignored her child's comment anyway.

"Don't you think you should say something to our Son about his eccentric taste in women?" She demanded of her husband.

"I have little interest in Severus viewing me as a hypocrite." Mr. Snape replied absently.

"Wonderful, Arcanus; more of your effective hands off parenting." His wife rolled her eyes.

"Dear woman, I think your talons are embedded deep enough in him for the both of us." Arcanus Snape replied in a distracted tone.

"So, I'll see you both in eight weeks then?" Snape deemed this should probably be the end of their visit.

With his Mother agitated, his Father becoming sarcastic and preoccupied, and the assurance that his parents would be spending the next few evenings in different wings of their home, Severus decided this should probably be the end of their visit and retreat to his room to do his favorite things in life:

Brew and brood.

Although the Snapes, Lucius Malfoy, and Aurora Black were compelled to leave early, the other parents and their students were happy to stay and share a dinner with their children and members of their faculty.

James and Frank Longbottom sat with the Evans family. What began as civil conversation quickly transformed into a match for bragging rights over Lily and James's various accomplishments. While it was all meant in pride and was intended to be flattering, Lily and James exchanged awkward smiles more than once as well as offered modest comments. With Petunia in mind for Mr. and Mrs. Evans and Frank's thoughts of his wife, Lily's parents and James's guardian were compelled to leave just after dinner with their children to see them off.

Not long after places were set for dinner, Remus returned from the Gryffindor commons with Romulus and Arabella. Seated with his parents and the Pettigrews, polite conversation was distributed all around but most of it was directed at getting to know Arabella a bit more. Initially shy under the attentions, Arabella quickly warmed up with her enthusiasm and broad dimpled smile not far behind. Romulus seemed to take a liking to her in particular as he asked her a barrage of nonsensical questions (such as if a dragon came into the school and roamed the halls would they leave tea out for it or only serve it straight meals) which she was more than happy to answer for him. It was interesting to see Arabella with children since she was so childlike herself at times. This quality made her seem all the more personable and endearing.

Once Romulus started to grow drowsy and night had long since fell, Mrs. Pettigrew and the Lupins said goodbye to their children and their friends and faculty before departing by carriages for the train station.

"Your little brother is so adorable Remus!" Arabella praised fondly.

"So how many times did he bite you?" Remus inquired, knowledgeable of Romulus's sure-fire defense against any and all opposition.

"Twice. Still adorable." Arabella reported. "Makes me wish I had some siblings to play with. What about you, Peter?"

"Only child." Peter reported. "Probably best. It would be cruel to wish my Mum's relentless love and worry on another soul."

"Why's she like that?" Arabella questioned.

"She's just overprotective." Peter decided upon. "I was really young when my dad died. He used to document various accursed items freelance for the Ministry time to time. Something came across his desk that he either didn't recognize or underestimated and it blew out his office. I guess she's just afraid something horrible will happen to me since I'm pretty much all she has. She never got along well with my dad's side and her brother went off to marry a Muggle."

"I'm sorry, Peter." Arabella frowned sympathetically. "I didn't mean to pry."

"Not a problem." Peter smiled reassuringly. "It happened 13 or so years ago so I'm well adjusted to the whole situation. It's just Mum that I can never get used to!"

Remus chuckled while Arabella simply looked relieved.

"Well, I think I'll be off to unwind with a walk." Peter announced, waving off to Arabella and Remus. "A couple of the Ravenclaws sounded interested in playing a few games of Wizard's Chess with me the other day and I'll see if they're still up for it."

"See you later, mate." Remus nodded as he strolled with Arabella down a corridor that forked off from Peter's.

"Is it odd for you to be so much older than your brother?" Arabella asked as she felt Remus put his hand into hers.

"Yes and no." Remus answered. "I can pass off most of what he does as amusing or cute since I'm too old for him to really get underneath my skin with petty things most Siblings allow themselves to be riled over. And I'm more than used to dealing with immature personalities through Sirius and James. It's good though, my parents always wanted more than one child but there were, well, circumstances that made caring for more than just myself complicated."

"Because you tend to get ill?" Arabella pressed in a concerned voice.

"I think it took a lot of pressure off my parents to have me at school most of the year." Remus somewhat agreed. "They still worry, mind you, but I have friends, professors, and Madam Pomfrey who are willing to ease their burden."

"I can't imagine you being a burden." Arabella contradicted with a sour expression. Remus squeezed her hand a bit in reply.

"Of course, you've always been the silver-lining sort. Nothing keeps you down for long, Arabella. That's something truly respectable in you." Remus observed fondly. "I was wondering, what were you planning on doing with yourself after Hogwarts?"

"I'm not really sure." Arabella paused thoughtfully. "I'm not all that talented in any specific branch of magic so it's not like I can really specialize. I reckon I would probably lean towards something with children or animals since I'm so found of both of them. What about you then, Remus?"

"I'd like to travel, I think. My condition forced me to be something of a homebody as a child so there's a whole world I haven't seen all that much of." Remus mused. "Maybe I'll have a vocation pertaining to studying the Dark Arts, research and the like."

"Really?" Arabella sounded slightly surprised.

"Oh, what did you think I'd do after graduation?" Remus asked curiously.

"I'm not entirely sure, per say." Arabella admitted. "I just figured you wouldn't be so far away and solitary."

"Well, I might not have much of a say in the matter." Remus confessed softly. "Trust me, the idea of settling somewhere with a family sounds more than grand but we don't always get what we want from life."

"Well I plan on getting everything." Arabella grinned. "Happy marriage and sweet children, once I'm tired of being the center of attention naturally."

"So never then?" Remus teased.

"Well if you ever get that far with a woman, you'd better be banking on the Mother of your children having a bloody fab sense of humor!" Arabella smirked, slapping at Remus playfully.

"Yeah, well it would probably help." Remus snatched her other hand into his before she could strike him. "I'm not entirely sure what the kids will turn out like on account of my contribution to the mix."

"Aren't you self-deprecating? Your family seemed normal enough." Arabella rolled her eyes. "Besides, all babies are cute."

"Even the hairy ones with feral overbites?" Remus muttered before smiling. "Oh well, long ways off for that sort of talk. Who knows what things might be like for me by that time?"

"That's the spirit." Arabella leaned in to kiss Remus. Closing his eyes, Remus attempted to forget about his long day, his frustrations with Sirius, the annoyances of Snape and his family, and every other trying and miserable thing he had been burdened with since the New Year came about. Remus marveled how even the dreariest of days could have a silver-lining woven in somewhere in the middle.

All in favor of a simple kiss.

Erinyes For lovers of Greek Myth like myself, a trio of sisters who acted as retribution for blood debts by tormenting/killing those close to the offender until they took their own lives in guilt or grief. I just thought it was a cool name and fit Snape's mommy a bit.

Empyrean Fancy way to say sky.

Puns on the Lupin family:

Rhea Silvia and the God of War, Mars, were the parents of Remus and Romulus which were twin brothers raised by a she-wolf in Roman Mythology. I just played around with this to make things seem a little more JKR-ish.


	21. Improvising With the Best of Them

Improvising With the Best of Them

By: Oy! Angelina

It was almost a relief for Lily when the remainder of the Gryffindors returned on Sunday from their Winter Holidays. All the Years reunited with their estranged members, comparing tales while exchanging hellos. For their part, the 6th Years anticipated the return of three of their girls and Sirius a few days later. Picking out Gwen McGinnis, Cassidy Kinkade, and Millicent Meeks, Arabella and Lily were quick to greet them with James and the other boys smiling and waving off to the side.

A wavy locked brunette with handsome spectacles, Gwen McGinnis was quick to smile and faster to act. Being Muggle-born, she was easily excited by most things in the Wizarding world and was slightly boy crazy. She and Arabella had the nasty tendency to encourage one another along with shrieking conversations and giggling fits until someone had the sense to break them apart. By now, they were forbidden in most classes to partner up. A fan of Divination, Gwen appeared to be the only person in her Year who bothered to take the class seriously.

Dark complexioned with her chocolate colored hair always secured in a ponytail, Cassidy Kinkade was a precise girl who compensated for Arabella and Gwen's flighty natures. The tallest girl in Gryffindor, Cassidy was a Quidditch Beater for the House and natural athlete. Most of the girls in Gryffindor were fond of her for making herself an intimidating consequence for bullying Slytherin girls to deal with. Cassidy fancied Defense Against the Dark Arts but her true interest rested with Quidditch.

The simplest looking of the three, Millicent Meeks kept chin-length black hair fastened under a headband. She was more studious than Gwen, Cassidy, or Arabella and was graciously supportive of everything her friends set their minds to and was just fine being off-center from the lime-light. Soft-spoken with a shy smile, Millicent never had an ill comment to make about anyone and kept mostly to herself when she wasn't rounding out the 6th Year Gryffindor girls. Millicent favored Potions and the History of Magic for their lack of discussion.

Prior to being a Prefect, Lily had roomed with these girls and Arabella for five years of her life. This past year had left her somewhat on the sidelines with her responsibilities as a Prefect and preoccupations with James. Feeling as though she finally had a better handle of her demanding life, Lily was curious to see what was new with the girls.

Under Arabella's suggestion to help the girls unpack while they caught up, Lily found her in the 6th Year part of the Girl's dormitory helping Millicent arrange her books on a shelf along her desk as they listened to Gwen vividly describe her Muggle family Christmas.

" – so no sooner does my brother get done accusing me of being a menace just because he was nosing about in my room and found on of those horrible biting tea cups Sirius got me as a gag gift, he spills his eggnog all over the tree and caught it on fire!" Gwen reported sourly. "I spent my Christmas Eve serving hot coffee to the fire department while my parents were off rewrapping the presents that hadn't burnt up."

"Is this what all Muggles do over the holidays, Lily?" Cassidy inquired. "Or is it just the McGinnis clan that's as mad as hatters and giving the lot of ye a bad reputation?" Finished unpacking, Cassidy flopped across her bed with a Quidditch magazine in hand.

"Sod off, Cass!" Gwen laughed. "Tell us what did you do with your holiday since you're the bleeding authority on everything that passes for normal?"

"Oh nothing special." Cassidy admitted. "My parents did spring fer a new broom fer Quiddiitch but they consider it an investment since I'll be playing Chaser fer the Kenmare Kestrels out of Hogwarts. Provided they're not too thick to realize I'd be the best thing to hit fer that team in years."

"I'm sure you'll be drafted, Cassidy." Millicent offered an encouraging smile. "You're the most brilliant player at Hogwarts."

"Well, I'd put my lot in with Potter, but thank ye kindly all the same, Millie." Cassidy nodded from behind her magazine.

"Speaking of James Potter, how did things go with you and him at the Ball, Arabella?" Gwen turned to the blonde who was emptying Gwen's trunk of clothing.

"I bet you looked beautiful in your robes." Millicent nodded before turning to Lily. "Oh, and I'm sure the dance itself was lovely, Lily, with you over seeing it."

"You're right on both counts, Millicent, it was fabulous!" Arabella grinned.

"Sounds like you seduced James like the tart you are." Gwen teased.

"I did no such thing!" Arabella turned her nose up indignantly. "That was Lily's contribution to the magic of the evening."

"James and I are seeing one another presently." Lily confirmed awkwardly thanks to Arabella's introduction.

The three remaining girls turned to Lily, unsure of whether to congratulate her or chide her for going after the boy Arabella fancied.

"And yer fine with this, 'Bella?" Cassidy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes!" Arabella assured. "James and I are friends and I'm running steady with his mate, Remus Lupin."

"Lucky cows." Gwen muttered bitterly at the good fortune of her friends in landing two of the more popular boys in Hogwarts. Cassidy tossed one of her pillows at Gwen.

"Don't pay attention to Gwen; she only knows how to say congratulations in git." Cassidy shook her head. "Good show, the two of ye."

"Yes, they're both very nice young men." Millicent beamed.

"Okay, well if you're going to bother with snatching two of the foxiest lads in school, I want details and they better be of the squishy sort!" Gwen insisted with interest. Arabella looked as though she were about to launch into a few while Lily and Millicent shared a blush and discomfited smile. Cassidy simply rolled her eyes.

"Would it be a terrible inconvenience if ye did not?" Cassidy groaned. "Potter's my sodding Captain! I have to work with the man!"

It was Gwen's turn to roll her eyes.

"Come off it, Cass!" Gwen tossed the pillow back at Cassidy. "Didn't hear you complaining when you were snogging him under the pitch bleachers after practice."

Every mouth in the room dropped, as Gwen clapped her hands over her own gapping one. Cassidy looked traitorous.

"Ye know what makes something a secret affair, Gwen? SECRECY!" Cassidy bellowed.

"Oh, I'm REALLY sorry about that, Cassidy!" Gwen pleaded. Gwen had the rotten habit of speaking long before she actually considered what she was going to say.

Catching Lily's expression, Cassidy turned to her.

"It was a fling last year, probably before he started fancying ye." Cassidy explained. "Thought we'd see if we had chemistry on and off the pitch, but it turned out to be a casual sort of thing. We kept it hushed because he had been named Captain that year and we didn't want people to think he was showing favoritism or something. Gwen only found out because the girl's part voyeur!"

"What would that make you? An exhibitionist then?" Gwen scowled in a bratty sort of way. "Anyway, I said I was sorry."

"You all right, Lily?" Millicent pressed gently.

"Of course. I mean, I imagine James had a life before I came into it and it's not like anything's still going on." Lily replied with a smile before her eyes darted to Cassidy. "Nothing's still going on right?"

"Oh, bloody hell, Evans!" Cassidy groaned. "That was so long ago I'm sure we'll be covering it this term in the History of Magic."

Arabella wagged her wand at Cassidy.

"Well if you know what's good for you, you'll not think twice about advancing on my Mr. Lupin." Arabella warned with a smirk.

"Please, I'd be afraid I'd hurt the boy with him being the fragile sort!" Cassidy chuckled turning back to her magazine.

"So that leaves Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew then." Gwen commented thoughtfully. "Hey, where is Sirius? I didn't see him with the usual sort."

"Off with family." Lily quickly answered. "Last minute sort of thing, he'll be back in a few days."

"Nothing happened to them, did it?" Millicent's brow furrowed with concern. "I mean, I've been hearing horrible things involving Death Eaters all around."

"No they're fine." Lily assured. "Just some things to sort out."

"That's good to hear." Cassidy nodded gravely. "Those evil dark prats are getting bolder, more violent. Not that they were all that pleasant and subtle before hand."

"What are you talking about?" Gwen's eyes darted between Cassidy and Millicent. "I haven't heard anything about this."

"Neither have we." Arabella jumped in, gesturing to Lily.

"Not all that surprising." Cassidy remarked. "Gwen was off amongst the Muggle population who would be more than ignorant of this sort of thing and I very much doubt Hogwarts is looking to panic its students while ye were all on holiday."

"It's getting dark out there, Lily." Millicent breathed with a frightful look. "People are dying."

"It's not just random chaos and senseless carnage either." Cassidy grimly added. "No, the news has been keeping things low key but there's word about if ye know where to listen. They're done just going about, trying to scare people, You-Know-Who and his followers are getting organized for something."

"It's bad." Millicent's lips pressed together tightly. "It's like; I apologize for saying this but like what happened to the Potter family a few years ago."

"Assassinations?" Lily felt herself go pale. The rumors she had heard about the Dark Sorcerer and his supporters had always been disturbing and unfathomable to Lily and the sheltered life she had known, but the idea that they were staging for something exacting and deliberate unsettled her even more. Especially with only one Potter still left.

Arabella put an arm around Lily in a supportive, protective way.

"James is going to be positively fine, Lily. He has the best sort of people looking out for him and there's no place safer than Hogwarts." Arabella said firmly before turning to the other girls accusingly. "That's enough of this talk. It's entirely morbid and serves no purpose other than to scare the wits out of us!"

"Hey, we weren't trying to –"Cassidy started in an apologetic, but defensive tone.

"No, I know that." Lily eased. "It's just, I remember this old Chinese saying I heard about once. It was meant to be a curse long ago."

"What is it?" Gwen hugged herself.

"May you live in interesting times."

A rapping on his door jarred Snape from his potion work. It was nearing midnight. Glowering, Snape put down his supplies and opened his bedroom door to find Winifred Wilkes waiting on the other side.

Winifred Wilkes was a cousin of Snape's, though the blood was several generations removed. Their great-grandfathers had been identical twins, but the marriages and offspring that followed had resulted in completely different descendants. Severus Snape's side had remained the more scholarly in their function within Wizarding society. Wilkes' branch were a far more enterprising pedigree of Wizard to descend from their line. Although they bared different last names as well as distinctive qualities, Severus Snape and Winifred Wilkes were still members of the same pureblood crest.

"Go to bed." Snape ordered.

Ignoring him, Winifred brushed past her cousin and into his room.

"I think not. I've been back at school for hours and you haven't seen fit to say a proper hello to your own blood." Winifred smirked as she strode over to a chair. Tall like her cousin, with the same intrusive dark eyes, Winifred invested far more consideration into her appearance than Snape; almost to the point that she was compensating for his lack of attentiveness. In his more generous assessments of her character, Snape regarded Winifred as spoiled and vain.

"Seek out attention in the common room." Slamming the door behind her, Snape skulked back to his project. "I have matters to attend to and I am a Prefect, meaning I can't have Slytherin students wandering about."

"Don't you know Slytherin is all about nepotism, Sev?" Winifred stated. "You know, everyone missed you at Christmas."

As they were the same age, Snape had been exposed to Winifred his entire life. He neither adored nor hated her, but she was family which required a certain amount of tolerance and obligation on his part. For her part, Winifred was equally accommodating of him and offered rarely invited suggestions to him on how to improve the quality of his life. Snape never considered this to be a concern, unless it was for how Winifred feared he reflected her.

"I'm certain you did." Snape spoke thoughtfully as he measured some fluid in a vial. "I imagine you all had to turn on one another without the black sheep to prey upon."

"We're a family bloodline of black sheep, Severus." Winifred observed. "You're just more sensitive than the rest of us."

"I think you're the first person to apply that adjective to me." Snape noted dryly.

She was an adequate witch who neither floundered nor excelled in any particular discipline of magic. Winifred was far less cruel in her disposition than her Slytherin female counterparts, such as Mary Tudor, and had a few familiar relationships outside of her own House. Of course, considering the company she kept and the fact she WAS a member of Snape's family that said very little. A social predator with a desire to puppeteer the easily swayed, Winifred harbored similarities to his mother, Erinyes Snape; however she was a blood relative of his father's side which meant she was secretive in most of her own agendas and shrewd of ones possessed by those around her.

Still, Snape recognized the most dangerous thing about Winifred Wilkes was her unassuming facade of an indulged, hedonistic Slytherin girl that he made a point to always remind himself of.

"I don't know if I'm the only one to think that. Mary Tudor told me you've been behaving moodier than usual." Winifred reported. "Half the conversations in the common room are about how you took a Gryffindor to the Yule Ball."

"I assume you meant Lily Evans." Snape corrected.

"She's the redhead you pair with in Potions from time to time, isn't she? Never really talked to her but she's supposed to be the smartest out of that lot right? Reasonably attractive and I adore her hair." Winifred rambled in an approving tone as she examined her nails as though expecting something to happen. "How did that go?"

"She merely served as company, Winifred." Snape assured.

"And I never knew you to keep it, hence I'm intrigued." Winifred lost interest in her hand as she turned to Snape. "They say she's a Mudblood. If you're being coy because you're ashamed of that don't bother, can't do worse than Uncle Jason when he married that Gorgon. I swear there was never a Summer Solstice quite like THAT one."

"Don't recite babble and hearsay which are half-truths at best." Snape glared from over his cauldron. "I'm not ashamed of Evans. More to the point, we're merely colleagues and she's seeing Potter."

"Ah, the Heir!" Winifred recognized the name. With her social circles, how could she not? "Not that Potter bothers me all that much, but all things considering with his family history and such I'm amazed he's still alive to steal your dance partner away."

"He has many Auror friends, not to mention the eye of Dumbledore upon him." Snape ignored Winifred's assumptions. She had selective hearing when it came to conversations. It made her a more effective gossip.

"He'll have to leave the nest someday." Winifred shrugged. Snape was uncomfortable with this conversation. The lack of malice in her voice made Snape doubt his cousin wished Potter any specific ill, but the apathy suggested that she didn't expect much past the contrary. "In the meantime, I'd be willing to inconvenience myself by running a little interference for you with Potter. It might leave Lily vulnerable and in search of a shoulder to cry on."

Winifred smiled at Snape, as though she was seriously entertaining employing this idea.

"I'd advice you to direct your omni--sexual energy towards something else, Potter has Evans to amuse him." Snape exhaled in a warning tone. "Additionally, I would find it terminally nauseating to know you were bedfellows with that narcissistic prat or any he keeps close company with. It's entirely bad enough you're bedfellows with half the population of this school."

"Well someone has to pick up the slack with you practicing celibacy like wand motions." Winifred put mildly, earning her an aggravated noise from her cousin as he shot her another dark look.

"You have your projects and I have mine. I just like the challenge of making good children go bad." Winifred rationalized. "I'm not all that fond of the mind games in our House, Ravenclaws are about as exciting as a new shade of lip gloss, and the Hufflepuffs are such easy prey the Ministry should have laws established to protect them in their natural habitats. There's just something about knocking those Gryffindors off that perch they've lofted themselves upon that seems like jolly good fun."

Winifred shivered in a way that made Snape doubt it was on account of a draft. He rolled his eyes at Winifred's sense of amusement. She smiled knowingly at Snape.

"You know what that's about." Winifred looked to Snape like she was staring at her reflection. "With Lily, that is."

"I don't fancy myself the corrupter you do, Winifred." Snape stated blandly.

"I don't corrupt." Winifred pouted in such a manner that suggested she was trying to come off as insulted rather than flattered. "I just lay out perfectly viable alternatives to socially conscious behavior. Come on, we both come from a long line of instigators. You know that. And I know you LOVE to get people all worked up whenever you spot an opportunity."

"Be that as it may, it does not excuse the hour." Snape sighed. "Go back to the dormitories; we have classes in the morning."

"You speak as though you intend to sleep." Winifred teased, but stood up anyway.

"I will speak with you at breakfast tomorrow." Snape promised, glancing to make sure his cousin was actually leaving.

"Have fun brewing." Winifred waved herself off. "Give me a holler if you happen across an immortality draft or eternal youth elixir."

Hearing his door open and shut, Snape suppressed a shudder at the notion of Winifred being preserved for any indefinite period of time and went back to his work.

1967, January 7th

Dear Journal:

I can't help but appreciate how dull things were the first two days back on term without Sirius about. Classes were conducted without virtually any interruptions or explosions from the back and none of his friends seemed particularly inclined to pick up the slack. James had to split his attention between entertaining his peers with witty remarks when he wasn't impressing us all with how brilliantly he grasps our studies, Remus only interrupts a lesson when he was making a positive contribution to it, and Peter rarely has the initiative to try anything outlandish on his own.

Now that Slytherin and Gryffindor have regrouped from our winter sabbaticals the feud is in full swing. Naturally, everyone knows about my attending the Ball with Severus Snape by this point. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, for the most part, have the common courtesy to be perplexed by all this while mine and Severus's respective Houses just have more ammo to throw about. I get teased by a few of my fellow Gryffindors a bit and the Slytherin are just vulgar in their comments. I trust Severus is fairing much along the same respects. I suppose people will lose interest eventually and all this will just be catalogued into the regular jabs our Houses throw at one another to get a rise; it's not worth me being particularly bothered considering I doubt either of us expected anything less to be the aftermath of our casual date.

Still, Severus is avoiding me for good measure. We barely spoke during the Prefect meeting on Monday and he's made an effort to make sure we're not seen together anywhere else. I doubt this is entirely the work of school gossip since it never appeared to intimidate him before. We've had a rocky sort of alliance as of late to begin with. It seems like we can't have a conversation without it turning into a flurry of words or someone storming off. I know he's the sensitive sort, quick to suspect and hard to win over, I understand that with the parents he has but I can't say I approve of taking the brunt of it half the time. I'm tempted to just confront him and say "if you can't accept that I'm a Muggle-born Gryffindor witch whose currently seeing James Potter and regularly consorts with the boy you attempted to expel then I think we have nothing further to discuss."

That's about where I expect Severus to tip his hat to me and wish a terrible life to me and my friends as we part ways forever.

He can be a stubborn prat like that.

I know he has a particularly sour disposition and a bitter regard for most everything, but that doesn't mean I'm entirely comfortable with disassociating myself from Severus. He's wise and sincere as well as a cold-water dose of reality at times. I think more people could use a friend who almost always had something intelligent to say and told you what they thought even if you weren't particularly interested in hearing it. It's affirming in so many ways. Well, maybe I'm asking to have my cake and eat it too, but I have to be optimistic that there may be a time where Severus and I can accept one another's lifestyles and contacts without it erupting into some horrible brawl.

About the only thing distracting myself and most of the school from who my dance partner was at the Yule Ball is who I started seeing after it. Most of the school is well aware that James and I are attached between hearsay and James himself. Not to imply he's indecent or anything while were in public, but he's fond of holding my hand about the halls and I even caught him glaring off a few boys who were evidently watching me in a way he didn't approve.

As I've yet to see James chase some bloke down a hall and pummel him in a jealous fit, I'll take his protectiveness with a flattering regard.

Possibly the best thing to happen since school came back in term was the return of Sirius Black. It was a grand affair in the Gryffindor commons when Sirius came in this night. Like a wayward prince back to take the throne, this promised an end to the state of mourning throughout all the girls' lavatories in the school I've noticed. Sirius looked a little rung out, but was thrilled to be home again. James laid out a warm welcome and Peter was quick to say hello. Remus offered a brief acknowledgement before finding a quiet corner to keep to himself in. As expected, Sirius seemed hurt by this but made no effort to harass Remus on the topic of their strained friendship.

Still, I caught them glancing over at one another from time to time. Maybe this whole mess will have the decency to sort itself out.

The phantom opening and shutting of Lily's bedroom door persuaded Lily to stop writing in her journal for the evening as she placed the black book and peacock quill off to the side of her desk.

"Happy to have Sirius back to you?" Lily's green eyes darted, trying to pick up where James presently was.

"Naturally." James materialized out from beneath his invisibility cloak. Folding it up and placing it on the corner of her dresser, James flopped onto his girlfriend's bed. He cocked his head to watch her at her desk. "He's happy to be back too. Not that he's indicating they were mistreating him or anything but I reckon he wasn't too keen on being off somewhere when things are still in such disarray here."

"How's Remus taking the homecoming?" Lily questioned, stretching out a bit. James made motion for her to come by him so she obliged.

"Like a good sport, I'll give him that much." James moved to give Lily room next to him on the bed and took to rubbing her shoulders. It was a safe wager she'd probably been studying a bit before he got there and had every intention of investing herself in her studies a bit more once he left. She hadn't even changed into a set of pajamas yet.

"So he's speaking to Sirius?" Lily asked in a half sigh. She'd protest James's attentions if it didn't feel so positively good that moment.

"Not so much." James admitted in a disappointed tone. "He's not being rude or yelling at Sirius, but Remus is doing what he can to avoid him. Kind of puts myself and Peter in the middle since we all share the same room."

"And you needed a break from the tension." Lily guessed as she took hold of James's forearms and draped them in front of her.

"It's a perk, but I actually came around to see you." James murmured into her hair. "It's only been a few days off break but I miss you."

"Well I think we both recognized being a Prefect and a Quidditch Captain required an investment of time before we accepted the positions." Lily reasoned, but knew what James meant. The most they saw of each other the past couple days had been during classes and meals, otherwise with extracurricular activities preoccupying them and homework to study it was hard to find moments like this in a day.

"Yeah, well maybe I would have passed it along if I had known this was going to happen for me." James mused softly and he hugged Lily closer to his chest.

Lily smiled to herself.

"Flattering, but I know how much you love Quidditch." Lily called James's bluff, facing him with a slight turn of her head.

"I do." James relented as he ran his lips over the crown of her head. "But I have my priorities in life."

"That's just new girlfriend novelty talking." Lily teased as she leaned the side of her head against James's chest. She could hear the medley of his breaths and heartbeat.

Both were slightly accelerated.

"I'm not sure about that." James confessed. "I mean, I haven't had all that much experience in courting women but it never felt like what we have between us even at the best parts. Even the worst times spent with you, Lily, are some of my better days."

"I can understand that." Lily agreed as she kissed he bottom of James's chin. She peered into his eyes as though she expected to find something there.

"It's a funny sort of thing, James. It's not that I was miserable in my life before things between us started sorting themselves out, but it didn't feel like it does now. I've always felt like my life started without me and now I have to constantly try to catch back up with it before I fall too far behind. Now, everything I do is without my usual hesitation. I'm not living after some shadow of a life I never fashioned. I'm living without looking back."

James said nothing, he only nodded. As though he fully understood the fractured thoughts she had just confessed. Feeling one of James's hands on the small of her back while the other stroked the side of her neck, Lily saw a quiet sort of expression on James's face that was neither a smile nor a frown.

It was a look of contentment.

Pulling her closer to him, James took Lily's mouth with his in a gentle kiss. It forced a sigh.

Sirius was on such thin ice his feet almost felt cold.

He had only spent three days with Aurora and her colleagues, answering their repetitive questions and cooperating as asked. Most of the people in Aurora's department were willing to accept he wasn't anything more impressive than a thoughtless prat with attention-seeking tendencies.

Sirius didn't need three bloody days to tell them all that.

Still, Sirius knew it was better that he jump through some hoops and repeat himself a whole lot if it meant his Family, the Ministry, and Hogwarts had a piece of mind about his piece of mind. Deciding it would cause everyone a few less headaches if he made an attempt to behave, Sirius was resolved to tone down the usual roving spectacle that happened to be Sirius Black once he returned to school and made certain his first week back passed in a particularly uneventful fashion.

Keeping his jokes light and infrequent so as not to disappoint his fans without annoying the Professor present, Sirius wanted to show he was making an effort to get back into the swing of his life without provoking any concern about the way he was going about it. In the halls, he was his usual, social self with most people until a Slytherin typically crossed his path. While Snape was keeping silent about Remus's secret he saw fit to mention where Sirius had been while everyone else was at school to his Housemates.

Sirius found it ironic that despite all of Slytherin's insinuations about how ruddy mad he was they appeared to harbored no concerns about taunting his mental stability relentlessly. Still, the worst Sirius found himself doing was trading the standard batch of insults with Snape and his House.

Suffering through the first of many long weekends, Sirius was confined to the House common room save for meals. He almost missed attending classes since it gave him an excuse to get out for a bit. For the most part, James and the others were good about keeping him company. Sirius only saw Arabella and Remus on occasion. Remus pretty much only spoke to Sirius when he had to and otherwise avoided eye contact with him when they were in their bedroom with James and Peter. Sirius attempted a few conversations now and then, but quickly ended them when he found Remus to be an unappreciative participant.

He especially got cross when Sirius tried explaining himself or apologizing again.

Completely without a clue as to how to earn Remus's forgiveness if he wouldn't allow him a word edgewise. Sirius knew being pushy would do little to help things. When the rest of their friends had gone off, Peter approached Sirius, curious to know why he hadn't been implicated more seriously in what had happened New Years. Sirius explained that he had been the one to do all the plotting and dragged Peter along in spite of his eventual objections so it was only fitting that he take full marks on this blunder. Peter offered to confess everything on his part to McGonagall if Sirius thought it would help him out of his current bad plight, but Sirius refused. Justifying this to Peter by saying if he changed his current running story now, people would be far more suspicious of him; Sirius really had no desire to get anymore of his friends in trouble at this specific juncture in his life.

James and Lily were being phenomenally supportive of him in spite of his stupid behavior. When they weren't passing him their notes for the days he had missed they were spending large portions of time with him. Arabella tried to be friendly for her part, but Sirius didn't expect or demand too much of her. He recognized how conflicted this situation probably was leaving her and wouldn't dream to fault her for any distance she might place between them.

The other Gryffindor 6th Year girls, being out of the loop as they were, saw fit to spend spots of time with him. Talking Quidditch with Cassidy, casually flirting with Gwen, and being gentlemanly to Millicent, the sweet thing she was, Sirius recognized things could be a lot worse off.

Then Remus would walk on by, deliberately not looking at him, and Sirius deflated completely.

This was just how things were at the moment.

Desperate and caged within his own life, Sirius feared he'd chew through his own limbs soon if things didn't shape up a bit between himself and Remus.

"Dare I ask why you're in such deep thought these days, Prongs?" Sirius inquired as he and James made their way through a lower corridor of the castle. They had just stopped back at the dorms after lunch for their Potions supplies.

"Lily's birthday's tomorrow." James responded. "Just trying to decide which plot to run with."

Sirius slung an arm around James's shoulders.

"Well I'm going to be a mate and help you keep from driving her off with some elaborate, over-the-top gesture that will probably look good on parchment but blow up in your face once put into practice." Sirius offered.

"No offense Padfoot, but you're not exactly a credible source for grand ideas as of late." James spoke without thinking. Catching a hurt expression slap across his best friend's face James quickly added. "Of course you're fairly well versed in getting women to fancy you and I'm always a world-class prat when it comes to all-things Lily so probably good to get your advice on this."

"Clever lad." Sirius grinned approvingly. "Okay, if you're planning anything that draws unnecessary attention to her, I say throw it out this instant. Lily hates being made a spectacle of."

"You think?" James ran a hand through his hair. "You probably have a point with that."

"I'd also think twice about dropping a sack of Galleons on her." Sirius mused. "Christmas was just a month ago and astronomy globes aren't cheap and it's anyone's guess what that tiara ended up costing you."

"Money doesn't matter to me." James shook his head.

"Oh I know you're the generous sort, James, but it might make Lily self-conscious." Sirius suspected. "You've only been seeing one another a few weeks and she might think you're trying to buy her or some other mad notion these Muggle-Born girls get when they date a guy who happens to be well off."

"Damn Muggles and their feminist movements." James grumbled. "Don't they appreciate how hard they're making chivalry on the rest of us?"

"Yeah, well if you two get to talking about marriage, I want to be there when you try and sell Lily on taking your name." Sirius smirked.

"I reckon I should start figuring how to phrase 'You're going to be Mrs. Potter and like it' in a manner that won't get me pummeled now, shouldn't I?" James laughed. "No but serious, since you've effectively shot down all my working plans, what should I do about Lily's birthday?"

"What about a surprise party?" Sirius shrugged. "Lots of fun and it plays off your personal strengths: misdirection, lying, and pulling something out of your hat when people least suspect it."

"I don't know." James grappled with the suggestion. "I doubt it would be much of a surprise since it would be right on her birthday and I don't feel that pretending I forgot would win me any points with her even if the party was fab."

"Well, we can always do it in the Slytherin common room." Sirius chuckled wickedly. "THAT would be a surprise for everyone."

"Yeah, I'll just go ask Snape to see about punch and noise makers." James rolled his eyes.

"Okay, if we're not going to do it for Lily, can we have that be MY Birthday party?" Sirius laughed some more, impressed with his idea.

"I think I'll go with a party in the common room, cake from Honeydukes, and the present I think she'll fancy the most." James committed himself. "I'll be out at Hogsmeade half the night and up the rest pulling this together."

"Could you pick out a present for Lily from me while you're at?" Sirius asked. James stopped walking and gawked at Sirius with a scandalized expression.

"Sirius, I'm liable to hurt you if you've forgotten Lily's birthday!" James hissed, prompting Sirius to laugh.

"I'm teasing you, Prongs!" Sirius assured gleefully. "Come now, you should be well aware that I memorized the birthday of every pretty girl at Hogwarts. It's going to be Owled to her in the morning."

"Oh it bloody better." James shook his head. Catching sight of Lily ducking into the Girls' bathroom with the other 6th Year Gryffindor girls, James nudged Sirius. "I'm going to wait about for Lily, you're free to join me so long as you don't breathe a word about her birthday."

"Not a problem." Sirius agreed as he followed James over to a pillar near the lavatory.

"What are we doing for Potions today?" Gwen questioned Lily as she adjusted her shoulder bag in the girls' bathroom as Lily smoothed out her auburn hair in front of a mirror.

"Practical Enchantment Drafts." Lily replied.

"What do those do?" Gwen applied a bit of gloss to her lips.

"Once you prepare the base potion, you cast a Charm on the mixture and any inanimate object you dip in it will have that spell infused into it. It's what you use when you want a broom to sweep under its own power or have your shoes lace themselves once on your feet. You know, practical magic." Lily turned away from the mirror. "You should know this, Gwen; it was part of our chapter assignment due."

"Brewsteem assigned homework?" Gwen demanded, genuinely bewildered. "Bloody Hell. I must have tuned her out somewhere after she started moaning about the ulcers we were giving her."

"I'm sure if you slip it on her desk before the end of the afternoon she won't even notice." Lily shrugged. "Still, you should pay closer attention or check in with myself or Millicent if you're unsure."

"Yes, dreadfully wicked of me to go about being less than perfect. Whatever was I thinking?" Gwen muttered.

Sighing, Lily pulled her bag from the ground. Absentminded and immature, Gwen was the sort of Witch who would probably always require someone to tap her on the shoulder to remind her not to forget her wand. Wagering that Gwen had grown far too accustom to having Cassidy or Millicent looking out for her, Lily hoped she wouldn't have to be the one to break it to Gwen that one of these days she'll need to function independently.

"We should be heading off." Lily announced. "Arabella and the other girls went on ahead of us and you certainly don't need to be without homework AND tardy."

Stepping out of the lavatory, James and Sirius looked as though they were debating something intensely between them.

"What do you reckon those set of Headboy's are working out?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"Well, my birthday's tomorrow. Maybe that has something to do with it." Lily guessed as they approached the two boys.

" – well they are about the same build so I reckon it's fair." Sirius finished with an approving nod, as he and James turned acknowledging the presence of Lily Evans and Gwen McGinnis.

"What have we been missing?" Lily smiled as James unburdened her of her supply bag. Sirius mimicked along with Gwen's pouch.

"Nothing." James insisted with a grin that warranted suspicion. "You're just in time to help Sirius and myself settle a wager about which of us it the faster sprinter."

"Oh I really couldn't say." Lily shook her head.

"Dunno." Gwen paused thoughtfully as they started walking towards the dungeons. "James is fast on a broom but that might say little for his legs and I only see Sirius in fast motion when it's either girls or a pranked Slytherin involved."

"Actually, that's not QUITE what we were debating." Sirius interjected, shooting James a grin. "You see, we're curious as to how fast we are with roughly 50 extra kilograms of weight over our shoulders."

Lily and Gwen furrowed her brows as they exchanged queer glances.

"50 kilograms –" Lily started to question before she felt James hoist her over his shoulder as Sirius did the same with Gwen. Both girls squealed in shock as Sirius and James took off down the hall cackling madly to themselves as they attempted to beat one another to Potions class.

Although the situation was odd and sudden, Lily and Gwen found themselves laughing along with the two boys shouldering them as they stopped in front of the Potion's classroom. Still laughing, the boys caught their breaths as they straightened out their uniforms.

"I think Sirius may have beaten me." James admitted with a wide grin.

"Yeah, well I don't have those knobby knees to work with." Sirius teased. "We'd best get in. I think class is about underway."

Making their way over to a vacant station near Remus and Arabella, Lily and James seated themselves and began to arrange their supplies. Sirius took a spot by Peter while Gwen reunited with Cassidy. The seating arrangements were in slight disarray since lessons resumed. Prior to her seeing Remus, Arabella traditionally paired with Millicent Meeks and with Lily no longer collaborating with Snape like before Milicent had been at a loss since it was obvious she'd be pairing with one of the Slytherin.

On the Monday back to school, Avery and his lewd sneer offered to work with her, until Snape announced he had no intention of pairing with the lazy Nott who would expect him to put in all the effort for the remainder of the term. Thus, Snape took Millicent on. It was an effective lab partnering since Millicent was a competent witch, followed instructions passively, and drew no attention to herself which did little to invite Snape's ire.

For the Practical Enchantment Drafts, everyone required additional components that were placed along the Slytherin's half of the dungeon. As Lily and James made short work of setting up their cauldron and getting their base potion simmering she was the first to venture over to the surplus supply counter.

Passing by their station for ingredients, Millicent offered a polite smile of acknowledgement as she went back to her stirring. Lily smiled back before offering a more approving one to Snape.

"I didn't get a chance to mention it earlier, but it was decent of you to work with Millicent." Lily praised.

"Decency had little to do with it, Evans." Snape replied as he kept his eye on his cauldron. "I require a partner capable of keeping up with the lessons. I would sooner place my wand hand in a boiling mixture than have to compensate for Nott's 3rd Year grasp of Potion brewing."

"Well Millicent's quite skilled with her potion work." Lily nodded.

"She's adequate, yes." Snape relinquished.

"That's about as best a compliment you can get off Severus." Lily assured with a smile at Millicent who had a questioning look as to what she'd done wrong. Relaxing a bit, Millicent nodded and focused on her work. Snape glared at Lily.

"It should also be noted she has far less cheek than my previous partner." Snape dryly informed. Lily laughed in an amused manner before she continued walking. Snape's eye caught Mary Tudor whispering something between her boyfriend Aaron Lestrange and Avery and Nott who were next to them.

Snape doubted much good would come of this.

"Playing around on Potter, Evans?" Mary Tudor inquired, her dark and sultry features hinged on predatory.

Lily turned away from plucking fresh leeches from a large jar to glare at Tudor.

"I don't pry in your conversations Tudor." Lily politely deflects, but an indignant expression had already formed over her mouth.

"Don't get all prissy, Luv." Aaron Lestrange advised while checking to see if his slicked brown hair was still in place. "We're being civil here."

"I very much doubt this discussion is heading anywhere innocent." Lily frowned as she attempted to gather her supplies more quickly.

With their voices low and even and everyone in the middle of their primary brewing, the rest of the room appeared completely oblivious to Lily's exchange with the Slytherins with the exception of Sirius Black who was only a few stations over. Lily doubted that he could hear what was being said but his pale blue eyes kept returning to that direction. Severus also made it a point to keep his attention divided between his project and what his Housemates were up to.

"Come on, we're just trying to sort things out here." Serpen Nott's bound brunette length of hair tilted along with his head. "If Snape's getting bothered over Mudbloods, I think his friends should know about it.

"Don't insult my perception of things." Lily huffed. "Passing yourself off as his 'friends' when you come down on him just as hard as me, honestly! Well, I simply refuse to encourage whatever depraved thoughts you're already doing."

"Oh that's bloody rich!" Nott scoffed. "You're the biggest tease at Hogwarts, Evans, how could you do anything but!"

"Isn't that the truth?" Lestrange nodded. "I bet Gryffindor's pretty little Prefect has such a need for attention she's willing to purr against anything that might offer it to her."

Lily felt her mouth drop slightly, utterly appalled.

"Five points from Slytherin for unprompted vulgarity." Lily notified.

"Unprompted?" The fair features and sharp nosed Regius Avery challenged. "You entirely invited that one upon yourself!"

"Remove an additional five from Slytherin House for back-talking a Prefect." Snape instructed Lily while glaring between Avery and Nott.

"I remember a time when all of us used to have a good chuckle at a Mudblood Gryffindor's expense, Severus." Lestrange returned Snape's harsh look.

"And I recall a time, Lestrange, when your knuckles used to drag along the floor." Arabella interjected as she joined Lily by the counter for her own supply of leeches. "I believe it was when you skulked your way into class."

"Go cough up your hairballs somewhere else, Figg." Tudor insisted, bristling. "No one invited your vapid opinion into this conversation."

"Oh, lay off a bit, Mary. I like Figg's wicked tongue." Avery cackled as he leaned over and patting Arabella on her behind, causing her to jump and scream a bit.

Half the heads turned in class at this startled noise. Most had quizzical expressions but evidently none had seen Avery's grope of Arabella since James, Remus, and Peter were only glaring from their stations instead of making their way over. Sirius, however, had taken note of this and was making his way over with a more than cross expression.

"Don't Sirius!" You'll get in more trouble!" Peter pleaded helplessly behind him.

"What's going on over there?" Professor Brewsteem demanded in a tone that suggested she was almost afraid to ask.

"Regius Avery being entirely inappropriate with Arabella Figg." Lily reported with narrowed eyes on Avery who was sneering back.

The entire room was paying attention at this point. Winifred Wilkes and her partner, the olive skinned and black curled Florence Copia, craned their necks to see what was happening. The burly Hekate Undercross who paired with the burlier Walden Macnair had wicked smirks as they snickered.

For the Gryffindors part, Cassidy Kinkade and Gwen McGinnis were exchanging hushed whispers while glaring over. Remus, James, and Peter were making their ways over to join the rest of their friends, while Millicent seemed entirely unsure of what to do with herself.

"I think you and I should have a word, Avery." Remus glowered, feeling his usual composure threatened slightly under the vague question of how inappropriate Avery was being with his girlfriend.

"Oh, calm yourself Lupin." Nott snapped dismissively. "It would break my heart to watch you collapse under the strain of walking and talking all at once."

"You Gryffindors need to lighten up." Avery rolled his eyes. "I was only making sure Figg knew she had her options open once she's done waiting around for Lupin to stop being too sickly to show her the best sort of attention."

Maybe it was because Avery had touched her or possibly his insult of Remus, even that smug expression on his face came off as more than enough incentive for her. Whatever the motivation, Arabella slapped Avery square on the jaw for one or all these reasons.

"Miss Figg!" Professor Brewsteem shouted in a flabbergasted pitch.

Leaping to his feet, eyes flaring, Avery shot his hand out, shoving Arabella hard against the counter behind her.

The entire room jumped to their feet.

Sirius jumped on Avery.

"BLACK! AVERY! ENOUGH!" Brewsteem screeched. In the same way they did during her lessons, the class ignored Brewsteem entirely and invested themselves into the brawl unfolding.

Nott made motion to jump in and help assist Avery but Remus grabbed him by the collar of his robes and pulled him into their own fight which Arabella joined in on. Turning on Peter, Lestrange cast a leg-locking curse against him, causing Peter to trip over himself in. The hulking Undercross dragged Gwen over the desks to pummel her properly while Cassidy leapt over to lend aid to her friend as Macnair caught sight of James and decided to settle some scores on and off the pitch. In the background, Wilkes and Copia aloofly applauded and critiqued both sides of the fight.

Aware that none of her students were even acknowledging her presence let alone heeding her commands for order, Professor Brewsteem decided it was time to bring in someone whose authority they might respect.

"SNAPE! EVANS!" Brewsteem screeched at the Prefects. "GET YOUR HOUSES UNDER CONTROL THIS INSTANT WHILE I FETCH THE DEPUTY HEADMISTRESS."

"Let's just truss everyone up until the fighting stops." Lily organized with Snape in a sharp shout. "I just need to get my wand."

This prompted Mary Tudor to spin around with an exuberant sort of expression.

"Unarmed Evans?" Tudor hissed gleefully. "Pity for you."

Pulling out her own wand with the intent to turn it on the red haired Gryffindor, Lily did the only thing she could at the moment.

Improvise.

Tossing the jar of leeches at Tudor's feet, its impact against the ground caused the water and leeches inside to splash up on Tudor's bare legs and provided the parasites with the opportunity to latch on her flesh. Screaming in hysterics, Lestrange ignored the wobbling Peter to help his girlfriend. Lily took this as an invitation to head back to her workstation and retrieve her wand.

Ignoring the nagging urge to join the fray alongside his fellow Slytherins, Snape resigned himself to his duties as a Prefect and the need to reestablish order. Recognizing Millicent Meeks had no visible inclination to begin brawling alongside her housemates and appeared too stunned to be of any other use besides a target, Snape seized her wrist and dragged her after him towards the corner of the room where his cousin was presently cackling from.

Pulling out his wand, James kept his eye on Walden Macnair. Tall and broad, Macnair was intimidating without the benefit of a magic, even though he was a mediocre Wizard at best. Like James, Macnair was a Chaser and Captain of his House Quidditch team which left little love between them to be lost. Feeling himself smirk, James jerked his head over towards where Remus, Peter, and Sirius were presently brawling.

"May I inquire why the scrawniest amongst us gets to fight the ogre?" James jokingly called over to his friends.

In response to the Gryffindor's quip, Macnair kicked a stool into James's knees, forcing him to sway forward from the collision. Macnair was gracious enough to correct James's stance by jabbing him in the jaw before shoving him on top the nearest potions' station.

"It's going to be a right treat to bloody you up off the pitch, Potter!" Macnair announced as he choked James against a desk with one large hand while landing a punch to James's face with the other once again.

Struggling against the huge Slytherin, it was impossible for James to call out a single hex as Macnair continued to strangle him as he sputtered blood from his freshly cut mouth. Not wishing to lie down and take being pummeled by Macnair, James's mind worked for a fast solution.

The answer came in the form of a wooden stool smashing over the back of Macnair's head. Collapsing in an unconscious heap at James's side, Lily dropped the broken off legs from her hands as she kicked Macnair sharply in the side.

"And it was a right treat giving you a _concussion_, you sodding git!" Lily spat vindictively.

James was shocked.

Grateful, but still shocked.

He never imagined Lily had it in her to be the violent sort of person but the way she just sent the bludgeoned Macnair dazed to the floor she certainly challenged all of James's previous modes of thinking.

"Why didn't you just curse him?" James's voice croaked out, still recovering from Macnair's grip.

"Didn't have my wand on me." Lily shrugged as she took a step over to where she and James had staked out for the Potions and land pulled her wand from her bag. "I saw fit to improvise, considering he was trying to murder you and all."

James blinked before a smile stretched across his face.

"I'd kiss you if there wasn't so much blood in my mouth!" James assured, causing Lily to laugh.

"Wager I'll hit Regius?" Winifred Wilkes asked Florence Copia as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at Sirius and Avery who were struggling and punching on top a workstation.

"Wager you'll hit one of them." Florence laughed and turned an interested eye onto the two boys fighting.

"_Stupefacio_." Winifred cast against Avery, putting her wand down with a smile as he slumped to the ground unconscious. Sirius Black glanced over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

Winifred waved with a broad grin.

"Florence is rather fond of your face, Black. Just keeping it in tact as a favor." Winifred reported.

"Just like old times then?" Sirius flashed a knowing grin at Florence.

"Greenhouses have nothing to do with this." Florence shook her head.

"One time gesture, Black." Winfred chimed in before she and Florence laughed at one another.

Sirius smirked at the girls in amusement until Snape walked along leading Millicent Meeks with him and absently waved his wand at the Gryffindor boy.

"_Salvulnus_." Snape hit Sirius with a Salt Sore Wound curse forcing him to cry out in shock.

"Oh…you…bast – AH!"

"Lovely boy, not that bright though." Florence commented with a smile as she watched Sirius double over making anguished noises.

Millicent had her hands over her mouth as she had an expression of wide-eyed shock. A reliable sort of girl and a pacifist by nature, Millicent was finding all her peers pummeling one another to be enough without having Prefects viciously hexing them with spells that made injuries feel like salt had just been poured over them.

"Was that –" Millicent squeaked out.

"Necessary?" Snape questioned with an amused smile and his eyes roamed over towards Sirius. "Very."

Turning his attentions back on Winifred and Florence, Snape eyed them.

"I understand why you'd prefer to keep to the sidelines, Winifred, however, I had not suspected you'd attack our own Housemates." Snape noted.

"Well I do when Avery tells me I need about as much prepping to get hot as a combustion charm." Winifred countered. "He's quite vulgar, you know."

"Traditionally, Winifred you're only expected to be insulted when something slanderous is spoken about you, not common knowledge." Snape informed. "Since you've already made an effort to do so, start subduing some of our classmates before McGonagall sees this mess."

Winifred and Florence both turned to Millicent who gasped slightly. Snape glared coldly at the Slytherin girls.

"Why not someone whose actually contributing to the discord at hand rather than a trembling little girl?" Snape suggested through his teeth.

"_Corpusardium Leviosa_." Winifred swished and flicked her wand at Lily across the room, causing her to suddenly start rising from her feet until she was pressed with her against the ceiling staring down at the floor. James Potter had his wand in his hand, trying to figure out a way to dispel the incantation without causing Lily to plummet to the ground face first.

"I thought Prefects went without saying." Snape admitted in a threatening voice.

"She just finished braining Macnair with a stool." Winifred defended herself, causing Florence to snort a laugh.

"You speak as though she inflicted any actual _damage_ to him." Snape replied unappreciatively.

Distracted by Lily's present situation, James didn't notice Mary Tudor, now leech free, hit him with Propulsion Curse until he was dazed and on the opposite side of the room. Turning her attentions on Lily, Tudor flashed a sadistic smile at her easy target of her vengeance.

Winifred had an obnoxious, expectant smile on her face as her eyes drifted from the scene to her cousin.

"_Expelliarmus_." Snape forced Tudor's wand out of her hand, causing her to look around for where it had fallen too. Gwen McGinnis interrupted the Slytherin's search when she threw herself at Tudor and tackled her to the floor.

"It appears Winifred's not the only one to attack a Housemate on behalf of a pretty face." Florence teased.

"She was defenseless. It's different." Snape argued, irritated with the two girls.

"Yeah, well your defenseless little wallflower has her wand now and just propelled a stack of books at Aaron Lestrange for attempting to hit Potter with a cauldron." Winifred pointed out.

"Be silent you cackling harpies." Snape muttered.

A loud bang from the back of the classroom caught the attention of most everyone in it. Professor McGonagall had her wand pointed in the air as smoke drifted from the top as she scanned the room with a shocked. The noise had even managed to rouse Macnair who was looking around while rubbing the back of his head.

"In all my years at Hogwarts I never . . ." McGonagall trailed off as Professor Heilsing followed in after, eyes narrowed and accusing with a distraught Professor Brewsteem right behind.

"On. Your. Feet." Heilsing barked. "All of you."

Straightening themselves up, half the students were nursing injuries while the other half were recovering from various curses. Snape cleared his throat.

"Avery's unconscious and Evans is, well presently indisposed." Snape reported as he nodded toward the ceiling. The Professor's followed the gesture to see Lily still hanging from the ceiling with an apologetic expression.

"Would someone be good enough to help me down?" Lily sighed. Stifled snickers hissed through the air. Professor McGonagall, Snape, and James all had their wands out and ready but Nott beat them to the job.

"_Removere Incantarium_." Nott dispelled.

Lily shrieked as gravity returned to her and she plummeted to the ground with a loud thud. McGonagall and the rest of her House raced over to Lily to see if she was alright. All the Slytherins but Snape were laughing out loud at the spectacle. With a dangerous expression, Professor Heilsing swept over to Nott who was doing an unsuccessful job of looking innocent.

"I have half a mind to give you over to the Gryffindors with a bow on your neck for that sadistic stunt, you thoughtless git." Heilsing assured Nott as she turned to Professor McGonagall. "How is she?"

"Fortunate enough to not have broken her neck." McGonagall informed crossly glaring at Nott. "However I don't think her arm and a few of her ribs share the same luck. I'll take her and anyone else in need of Madam Pomfrey's attention with me to the Hospital Wing."

Standing up suddenly, James's expression was furious as he made motioned to race over to Serpen Nott to do undoubtedly violent things however, Remus and Peter took a strong grip of his arm and robes to hold him back. Had McGongall and the other Professors been absent, there was little question James's friends would have made little effort to restrain the throttling he had in mind for Nott.

"You heard the Deputy Headmistress, get along with you!" Heilsing snapped to the injured. "The rest of you can head on back to the common room and tell your fellow Slytherin all about how you managed to loose them 110 points from your House in the span of five minutes."

Several protests rang out in protest. Professor Heilsing's gray eyes didn't waver for an instant.

"Oh, you think my math's off? Well I'll do the figuring aloud: 50 points for this atrocious behavior and 60 more for Mr. Nott's warped sense of humor." Heilsing rationalized coldly. "I hope it was worth the giggle, now back to the common room where best of luck to the lot of you in not getting lynched by your peers for putting Slytherin in last place for the House Cup."

Snape nodded to the other 6th Years.

"Someone revive Avery, we're leaving." He urged through his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Potter and the others help Lily to her feet while attempting to avoid touching any places she may have been injured. Swiftly, he led the Slytherin out of the Dungeon Classroom, leaving their House Head behind.

Remus, Peter, Arabella, and Gwen followed Millicent back to Gryffindor where she would brew up some ointments for their minor cuts and bruises. Summoning a stretcher to carry Lily to the Hospital Wing so as not to complicate her injuries, Professor McGonagall kept a concerned eye on her Prefect and a sharp one on the rest. Thanks to Snape's curse, Sirius needed his wounds flushed out from the salt in them, James possibly had a concussion after Tudor blasted him across the room, and Cassidy was nursing a few sprained fingers and a twisted knee from her scuffling with Underwood.

The Slytherin causalities consisted of Mary Tudor's legs which had dozens of open sores from where the leeches had been attached with slight burns for where Aaron Lestrange had burnt them off. Nott was a plethora of injuries thanks to the dual beating by Remus and Arabella. Hekate Undercross had a swollen lip and even worse looking eye courtesy of Cassidy Kinkade, along with miscellaneous bite marks from Gwen McGinnis. Macnair probably could have used a bit of attention but he probably didn't want to admit how he had gotten himself hurt in the first place.

"Mr. Nott, I believe it would be best if you stood close to me for I fear what my House might do to you without my constant presence." Professor McGonagall advised in a cold voice. Nott looked uncertain if he was any better off with the Gryffindor Head but stood near her nonetheless as James Sirius, and Cassidy threw him murderous looks.

"Once you see to them, Professor Brewsteem and myself will meet with you at Dumbledore's office." Professor Heilsing informed. "He should be aware of this."

"I couldn't agree more." McGonagall nodded stiffly. "I will be along shortly."

Madam Pomfrey was less than thrilled to have over a half-dozen students to tend to all at once and asked Professor McGonagall to see to the less serious injuries while she focused her immediate energies on restoring Lily. Finding James unsurprisingly at Lily's side, Madam Pomfrey passed him a small flask as she pulled her wand out while at the side of Lily's bed.

"Drink that down Potter, it should help any trauma you've managed to do to that usually thick head of yours." Pomfrey ordered. "Once you're done with that, see what you can do to keep Evans attention since mending bones can be a bit painful."

Already groaning and wincing from her injuries, Lily seriously doubted it could be much worse to the pain she was presently experiencing and glanced to James who had finished downing his elixir.

"How you holding up?" James asked with concern. He took hold of the hand of hers which wasn't attached to the broken arm so she'd have something to grip onto if the pain got to be too much.

"I've had better days." Lily tried to joke. She did everything she could to ignore Madam Pomfrey and keep focused on James and through the pain. James nodded sympathetically as she caught his eyes glare over at Nott with utter loathing. In the same instant, James's expression completely lightened up as he grinned broadly at her.

"You know Lily, when I watched you drop Macnair with that shot to the head I could have proposed to you on the spot!" James beamed. He held her hand a little bit tighter as he felt her tense and saw her features contort with fresh pain from Pomfrey's healing magic.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter for reminding us all that romance is far from dead." Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes at James before turning to Lily. "And Miss Evans – "

Lily cringed from more than just pain as she turned to receive her scolding.

"Macnair must be three times your size."

A flicker of admiration danced over Madam Pomfrey's eyes as she suppressed an amused smile that James and Lily couldn't fight back.

Some Meanings:

Florence Copia Prosperous Wealth

Hekate Undercross Hekate was the Greek Goddess of dark witchcraft who was also associated with the Underworld and crossroads.

Regius Kingly

Salvulnus Sal "salt" + Vulnus "wound"

Serpen Latin derivative of "Serpent"


	22. Best Served Cold

Best Served Cold

By: Oy! Angelina

"So on a scale of one to shagged, how shagged are we?" Sirius demanded as he watched Lily step into the common room. All the other 6th Years turned their heads at her presence as well.

"I'd say quite thoroughly." Lily reported glumly.

As soon as they had arrived back to the Gryffindor dormitories, the 6th Years lingered in the commons area to hear what was in store for their brawl in Potions with the Slytherins. About an hour after all the non-injured combatants had been banished by McGonagall, those who had been in the hospital wing reunited with their peers and friends, with the exception of Lily who was summoned, along with Snape, to offer their impressions of what had transpired before punishments were distributed.

With an exhausted sigh, Lily settled next to James on the ledge of the fireplace as he placed a comforting arm around her.

"Well, I don't reckon any of us were expecting Special Services awards for thrashing the Slytherins." James confessed.

"So what happens now, Lily?" Peter pressed.

"Well, we're all under House arrest, save for meals and classes, until the end of January; one hundred points are being taken from the House for our abysmal behavior." Lily began listing.

"Oh Bloody Hell, we'll be MURDERED by the rest of Gryffindor once this gets out!" Gwen McGinnis moaned tragically. Sirius patted her on the head.

"Don't fret, Luv. James will win them all back for us." Sirius soothed.

"You're such a prat." James glared but laughed at his friend, before turning to Lily. "What else do we have to look forward to?"

"You and Cassidy are banned from the Pitch until February since Captains and Starting players are expected to present a better example for their House." Lily reluctantly informed. James cringed and Cassidy Kinkade's face distorted with outrage.

"Is McGonagall mad?" Cassidy growled. "We play Hufflepuff the first week of February! How does she expect us to win if we're not practicing!"

"Simmer down, girl." James urged. "The rest of the team will just have to practice with the reserves until we can get back on the Pitch. After that, we drill like wizards possessed."

"Yer right." Cassidy relaxed. "Besides, from what I saw of their practices, we'd stand good odds of beating Hufflepuff without our brooms if we had to."

"Not that we're bragging." James grinned.

"Just calling them as I see them, Potter." Cassidy assured jokingly.

"If you two are finished patting one another on the back for being Quidditch Gods, I'd like to know how miserably incarcerated I'll be for the next fortnight or so!" Remus called from the dormitory steps where he was perched with Arabella seated on the step just below him. The petite, curled blonde glanced up at her boyfriend.

"So being around me is misery then?" Arabella accused with a joking pout. Remus smiled sheepishly and put his arms around her.

"You're very pretty." Remus stated as he kissed the top of her head.

"I wouldn't count that as an answer if I were you, Arabella." Lily laughed along with most of the other 6th Years. "But, as for the rest of our penance to be served, McGonagall, Heilsing, and Brewsteem are collaborating on a detention for all of us to serve that they'll announce later. I'd expect it to be this weekend though myself."

Turning to Sirius, Lily had an apologetic expression.

"And it looks like Sirius and myself have been singled out." Lily commented. "I'm on probation as a Prefect since my bludgeoning Macnair wasn't considered to be an appropriate means of handling the situation."

"Oh but that was bloody fab!" Sirius protested with a laugh as he recalled the memory.

"And since you're already confined to the dormitories, McGonagall's demanding you compose three feet of parchment on why fighting never solves anything due to her by Friday." Lily concluded.

"Oh bugger." Sirius grumbled.

The 6th Years sat around the common room in silence as the allowed the consequences of their clash with Slytherin House sink in. Turning to Millicent Meeks, Lily thoughtfully added.

"But this excludes you, Millicent. You had nothing to do with the brawling whatsoever; Severus Snape and I told Professor McGonagall such. She agreed it wasn't fair to hold you accountable for everyone else's actions."

"That's alright." Millicent shook her head with a smile. "I want to help you out in detention since I didn't serve much good in the midst of the fighting."

"It would have freaked me out a bit, Millie, if ye DID jump in with the rest of us." Cassidy confessed with a chuckle.

"So we're cooped up for fifteen or so days and a detention for good measure." Arabella mused. "I suppose it could have been worse all things considering."

Checking his watch, Peter shrugged to the rest of the group.

"Well, it's about supper time now. We may as well head out to the Great Hall before McGonagall breaks out the locks and chains."

Rising from their various arrangements throughout the room, the Gryffindors made their way out into the corridors with deflated spirits.

"Maybe this is one of those blessing in disguise sort of things." Gwen offered up helpfully. "You know, a chance to do better with our studies since we won't have all that much else to distract us."

"Right, and to polish up our camaraderie as 6th Years since it's not like the rest of Gryffindor will be speaking with us after they find out we put them in third for the House Cup." Sirius sarcastically contributed. He stole a wary glance at Remus who decided to walk on ahead of the group with Arabella.

"Or not." Sirius's hands found the pockets of his robes. Peter patted him on the shoulder.

"He'll come around, mate." He whispered to Sirius so Remus wouldn't overhear.

"Been waiting near a month for him to come around." Sirius reminded in a wounded tone. "Short of turning back time, I'm fresh out of ideas for getting back on Moony's good side."

Listening in on this exchange, Lily and James walked with their hands locked a few paces behind the body of the group.

"Now I'm just starting to suspect Remus is being stubborn." Lily commented to James in a low voice.

"I know." James admitted. "But it's not really our place. I fear mediating would only make things worse. Remus might take it as butting in or ganging up on him and, well, he does have a right to be mad at Sirius."

"It's a pity though." Lily said mournfully.

"Yeah." Was the most James could offer in reply.

Informed of virtually the same list of repercussions for their conduct in Potions, the Slytherin 6th Years were just as sullen as their Gryffindor counterparts. The rest of Slytherin pretty much refused to even acknowledge the members of the Year for their gratuitous loss of House points and setting Professor Heilsing off on a rampage for the rest of them to contend with. Perhaps there would have been a little less hostility if they had utterly defeated the Gryffindors but there was little honor in a draw within Slytherin.

At their House table, the 6th Years quietly discussed their confrontation from that afternoon and the aftermath of it.

"And we have no indication of when this detention is supposed to be or what it will entail?" Mary Tudor probed Snape.

"Not that was indicated, no." Snape replied.

"Don't you find it unreasonable that Florence and I are expected to serve detention as well?" Winifred Wilkes questioned aloofly. "It's not as though we did anything."

"You attacked a Prefect." Snape dryly reminded.

"I did no such thing." Winifred countered. "I just left her open for Nott."

A round of snickering rose after this comment.

"How could I forget?" Snape's tone was icy while his black eyes burned into Winifred.

"Anyway, that's not what I had intended to happen, Severus." Recognizing that this was a touchy subject, Winifred avoided her cousin's glare and returned her attention to her dinner.

"Speaking of which, Serpen, I imagine Heilsing will be making an example out of you for your helping Evans off the ceiling." Aaron Lestrange wagered with something of a smirk.

A few Slytherin outside of their Year had to begrudgingly admit it was near worth Serpen Nott's 60 point loss in House points for how he dropped the Gryffindor Prefect, Lily Evans, flat on her face.

"Of course." Nott confirmed bitterly. "She has the most monotonous punishments in mind. I have to copy our entire Defense Against the Dark Arts tome word for bloody word like some common scribe for an hour everyday. Then the crone said she's going to assign me a different corridor each day and inspect every last stone for cracks to repair!"

"So was it worth it?" Regius Avery inquired dully.

"Dropping that Mudblood bitch on her prissy arse? More so now, I'd say. I swear you'd think she actually did break her neck with the way everyone's acting." Nott sneered as he glared over at the Gryffindors. "I mean, she's right as rain over there and dangling off Potter's arm like some gaudy trinket as we speak!"

Finishing his meal in silence as his housemates talked around him, Snape left the table without a word once his plate was cleared. The other 6th Years took note of his absence but only Winifred appeared to be slightly bothered by it.

"I certainly don't envy you, Serpen." Walden Macnair chuckled while dishing himself out second helpings of boiled potatoes and rare cooked roast.

"Pardon?" Nott turned to the beastly Slytherin.

"I'm just saying that if Potter, Black, or one of those other Gryffindor don't get around to thrashing you, Severus is going to finish you off." Macnair reported as though it was somehow amusing. "I'd start checking my meals for poison content if I were you."

"What are you talking about?" Nott demanded obliviously. "Because he got detention with the lot of us? That's just Heilsing being a pain as usual."

"No, you thick headed git." Tudor rolled her eyes. "What you did to Evans."

"Why would he care?" Nott scoffed.

"Because he fancies her, you dolt." Lestrange groaned. "You've seen him about with her, pairing up in Potions, escorting her to the Ball. Can you POSSIBLY be THIS stupid?"

"I thought we were just teasing him! You know, having some sport with the boy!" Nott insisted shrilly. "And all that other stuff, well, I just assumed it was because they were both Prefects or he was just getting at Potter."

"Why would you be that naïve?" Florence scowled disappointed.

"Because he's a sodding Slytherin!" Nott hissed. "We're supposed to run these sorts of games!"

"Well now you're playing on Severus's terms and that's not a position I'd care to be in." Lestrange shrugged. "It's possible he may hate you more than Black presently and you saw the vicious curse he threw at him."

"Oh come on!" Nott glowered, but was starting to look more that panicked. "If Severus was something to worry about you and Mary wouldn't antagonize him nearly as much as you do."

"The difference between myself and Aaron and you, Serpen, is that we aren't afraid of Severus because we're as well versed in magic as he is." Tudor corrected with a thin grin. "We posses the ability to discern when we push someone down: Who will lie there, who will get up, and who will push you back. THAT is what it means to be a Slytherin."

Nott appeared to pale slightly at the prospect of not only having to deal with Professors Heilsing and McGonagall, as well as the Gryffindors for his slight against Lily Evans, but now he had people in his own House to worry about.

"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall?" James spoke as he entered the Transfiguration instructor's office a little after dinner. Looking up from the parchments she had been grading, McGonagall did not appear pleased to see him.

"Considering I just gave you full marks on your essay, Potter, I'd like to assume you don't require me to explain what it means to be confined to Gryffindor Tower." Professor McGonagall said dismissively.

Hesitantly stepping in to the room, James felt his hand run through his mess of black hair.

"I know. And I have every intention of heading their straight away; however, I had a question about the conditions of our punishment." James awkwardly pushed the conversation along.

Placing her quill down, McGonagall folded her hands.

"I suppose you're here to argue on behalf of the Gryffindor House Quidditch team and its dire need of its Captain and Beater getting in practice at the Pitch?" Professor McGonagall peered over her spectacles at the boy.

"Er, no." James shook his head.

As though suddenly curious by why he was in her office, McGonagall cocked her head slightly and waited for James to continue on.

"I realize we're supposed to be punished and aren't permitted to leave the dorms outside of the times you specified, but, you see, Lily's birthday is tomorrow and I was wondering if it was okay for me to go ahead with the party I planned." James stumbled through his sentences. "You see I thought about this and it's not really a violation of any of your rules presently so long as we kept it in the tower."

With a heavy sigh, Professor McGonagall had a slightly sympathetic look to her sharp green eyes as she stared at James.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Mr. Potter." She notified.

"But Professor." James pleaded. "It's not all of the 6th Year Gryffindors you're punishing here. It's just Lily. It's not right to single her out like this. I mean, everyone else has a party in some fashion or another in our House, probably not as much an event as I was putting into it, but still! Even if it was just a small affair, what would be the harm?"

"And do you suppose the Slytherins will be having any celebrations anytime soon? How would it be fair for ALL the students if I start making exceptions to the rule because your girlfriend's birthday had the bad luck to follow the day you all participated in a fight?" McGonagall replied somewhat crossly, before her expression softened. "I'm sorry, James. I am."

It was evident that James was growing irritated with how this discussion was going. Regrouping his thoughts, James opened his mouth to attempt some other appeal, but the Head of his House raised a hand to silence him.

"I'm not forbidding you or any of Lily's friends from giving her presents or wishing her well, but a party is simply out of the question." Professor McGonagall firmly stated. "It's not like Lily won't have plenty of other birthdays for you to make an unofficial holiday of, James."

"You're just putting me in a sore spot is all." James muttered almost apologetically. "But I suppose you'll tell me I should have thought about that before I tussled with the Slytherins, hm?"

"It appears you don't need me to." McGonagall observed. "Now, head straight back to the dorms. I don't want to hear about you wandering about from anyone."

"Yes ma'am." James nodded as he left her office.

Picking up her quill, McGonagall sighed once more before returning to her papers. A large part of her wanted to go along with James's reasoning and find no harm in a small get together for her students, but what lesson would be taught through that?

As rewarding as her occupation was, Minerva McGonagall couldn't help but resent the responsibilities of an educator at times.

After lights out, the Marauders, with the exception of James, were in their rooms preparing for bed as they listened to him recite his conversation with McGonagall earlier. James noted his friends shared his disappointment as he adjusted his Invisibility Cloak around him.

"This really isn't at all fair to Lily." Peter shook his head unhappily as he fought with the buttons on his pajamas.

"Well I still have every intention of throwing her a party with or without Professor McGonagall's consent." James declared. "With all the work she puts in as a Prefect, student, and being an all around decent human being, Lily deserves a proper celebration in her honor."

"That's boyfriend bias talking there." Sirius reported from his bed. "But I'll confirm everything you just said as an impartial judge. Lily does deserve a little fun and festivities."

"Especially after what Nott did to her today." Peter added with his eyes narrowed. "I could have wrung his neck!"

"No you wouldn't have." James corrected glowering. "Because I would have already been at it if all those Professors weren't present."

"Well there are more than enough dark hallways for Nott to walk up, mate." Sirius assured, sharing his friend's insult. "He'd best take to looking over his shoulder because I have a mind show him I'm every bit the loony git he's been claiming me to be."

"Are you looking to get yourself expelled, Sirius? Because I assure you if you keep on pranking and fighting like this few people are going to care to keep your wand from being snapped in two." Remus glared from his side of the room. James wagered that this was a marriage of Remus's anger at Sirius and concern for his impulsive friend.

Turning to James, Remus added.

"And I'd recommend you take my advice as well, James. I understand how you'd be tempted to get a little retribution by pummeling Nott, but it's only going to hurt things long before it helps them."

"Oh, and I suppose your planning on turning the other cheek on Avery shoving Arabella about after he patted her on the bum?" Sirius interjected boldly.

The room fell silent. This was the first time since New Years Sirius had uttered a word against Remus. Peter and James exchanged quick glanced between themselves as they awaited Remus's reaction.

"Pardon?" Remus eyed Sirius.

"Why do you think I hauled off and gave Avery's matching black eyes?" Sirius crossed his arms. "There is a method to my bloody madness, you know."

"I only saw – " Remus paused. Arabella hadn't gone into detail about what Avery had done to help incite the fight in class, but he suspected it wasn't in anyway proper for a man to treat a woman. Doubting Sirius would make something like that up, Remus said nothing further as he crawled into bed.

"So James, what are you going to do about Nott?" Peter asked as James prepared to leave.

"I don't know." James scowled. "But I can't imagine he'll like it very much.

Lily's seventeenth birthday was a somber event.

Although all her friends were making a big show of wishing her a happy birthday and provided her with generous and thoughtful gifts throughout the day, Lily knew there was no party for her later on account of the fight yesterday. Lily attempted to keep her spirits up by telling herself that cake, decorations, and a room full of people laughing meant very little overall, but there was still a hollow feeling that nagged at her all through classes and their meals.

After all, it was a depressing thing to think everyone gets to have a party but you.

Following supper, McGonagall made her presence known in the common room and prevented the 6th Years from retreating anywhere else in the tower en masse out of suspicion they'd have a party regardless of what she had decreed. James appeared particularly soured by all this as Lily guessed that was what he had had every intention of doing until McGonagall arrived. Keeping their discussions low and light, everyone attempted to pretend things were just as fun as a party, but their inability to meet Lily's eyes throughout the night told her they were upset they couldn't do more.

Around eight-thirty, Lily couldn't take the false cheer any longer and excused herself from her friends, claiming she had some parchment work that she had to give to the Head Boy and Head Girl by the end of the week. Sad she was leaving but realizing they had little to entice her to stay, the rest of the 6th Years wished her a Happy Birthday again with a few hugs added in for emphasis. Shutting her bedroom door, Lily flopped on her bed with her History of Magic book and sighed.

"As wonderful as I imagined it would be." Lily muttered to herself sarcastically and attempted to read her book to free her mind of the disappointment weighing on it.

Just after nine, a knocking on her bedroom door drew Lily's attention as she was silently studying on top her bed.

"Come in." She invited as her eyes watched the door expectantly. Stepping into the room while balancing a cake then shutting the door behind him, James smiled.

"Happy birthday." He wished as he brought the cake over to Lily as she sat up grinning.

"James, you didn't have to do all this." Lily insisted, although she didn't sound particularly upset that he had.

"I had planned on a lot more before McGonagall put her foot down." James admitted. "Next time we break a few dozen school rules we'll do so around Sirius's birthday. He's spoiled enough."

Displaying the cake to her, Lily noted how beautiful the frosting was decorated and watched seventeen shimmering orbs dance over the top of it.

"What am I going to do with all this cake, James?" Lily giggled helplessly.

"Eat some and hopefully share." James urged beaming. "Go on now, make a wish."

Smiling at James and how he managed to turn the smallest of gestures into the grandest of efforts. In a steady puff of breath that dimmed and extinguished all the enchanted lights over the cake, Lily decided she would wish never to know a life without the James Potter she had come to adore in it.

"There you are, wish granted." James set the cake on her nightstand still smiling.

"You don't even know what I wished for." Lily smirked.

"Well I imagine it was something to the effect of you being unable to go on without me, but I'm an egotistical prat like that." James chuckled, causing Lily to burst out laughing at the sheer irony of James's unwitting comment. Shaking her head, Lily grinned broadly at James as he sat next to her on the bed and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Feel older?" James inquired.

"Dreadfully, yes." Lily joked.

"Well, you don't look a day over sixteen years and eleven months to me." James assured as he produced a small, wrapped box from his pocket and passed it to Lily.

"Now THIS you didn't need to do." Lily marveled as she examined the gift.

"Of course I did, it's your birthday." James argued. "Open it, the suspense is killing me."

"KILLING YOU?" Lily laughed as she tugged at the ribbon around it. Removing the section of colored parchment, Lily uncovered a small jewelry box. Stopping to steal a glance at James, Lily hoped it wasn't anything too extravagant that she would positively love but could in no way accept. Holding her breath, Lily pushed up the lid and found a gold locket with the Gryffindor crest emblem etched into the face of it.

"Oh it's lovely, James!" Lily breathed.

"I know we have a dress code and everything but you could wear it tucked under your shirt and no one would really know." James was suddenly awkward, but was evidently pleased Lily really liked it. "Turn it about; I enchanted an inscription on it."

Obeying, Lily flipped the pendent and read it aloud.

"To Lily Evans; Prefect, train riding poet, and gazer of stars Officially and unofficially yours, James Potter"

"I adore it." Lily couldn't stop smiling as she leaned over and kissed James. Taking her face in his hands, James would have liked to deepen the kiss a bit more but the fact neither of them could stop grinning made it impossible to keep their mouths locked for too long. Finally giving up for the time being, James brushed the hair off around her neck.

"Here, I'll put it on you." James offered as he took the necklace into his hands and began to fasten it around her neck.

"I think my favorite part is what you wrote on the back." Lily felt James fingers linger and trace around her neck and collar even after the locket was on.

"It flashes 'Property of James Potter' if another man touches you." James added through a breath on her ear.

"You're joking." Lily turned with her jaw slightly slack at the fair possibility he wasn't.

"Yes." James eased his voice and hands around Lily. "But I need to say something to get you to turn around without smiling so I could kiss you properly."

Fighting back a fresh grin, Lily closed her eyes as she allowed James to do just that in addition to all the other things he had given her for her birthday.

Although it was only a few days after the free-for-all in Potions, the Slytherin and Gryffindor 6th Years were suffering under the stress of their House Heads and the stifling effects of cabin fever. Both Houses had enough sense to not antagonize one another in the open since neither side could afford getting into more trouble than they already were, they decided to adjust their rivalry by attempting to win House points out from under one another during lessons. Severus Snape, Mary Tudor, and Aaron Lestrange were leading the way for Slytherin while James Potter, Lily Evans, and Remus Lupin were pulling most of the weight for Gryffindor.

Everyone else was expect to help as they could or, at the least, not do anything that would warrant any more points to be taken off.

Friday was a break from all the point snatching and even the confinement of their dorms as the Slytherins and Gryffindors were permitted to visit the library after lunch for one hour. Several of their classes required additional materials for essays due the following Monday. Advised to avoid one another as best they could, the Gryffindors and Slytherins restrained themselves from otherwise complicating their lives needlessly and drifted up and down the stacks of the library for their reading.

Finding adequate resources for his report on rare plants and the even more rare potions they create for Herbology and a composition for the History of Magic paralleling the Muggles methods during their Inquisition against the Ministry of Magic's own policies on dealing with dark sorcerers, Snape became distracted by the sound of Winifred giggling somewhere in a neighboring row of books. Guessing she was up to something that might have the lot of them thrown out of the library, Snape attempted to follow her voice with a nagging reservation about witnessing whatever scene was providing her with such amusement.

Snape was reasonably surprised to discover her talking and chuckling with Lily Evans. Cautiously he approached the two girls.

"Hello there, Severus!" Winifred smiled at his presence.

"Hello." Lily joined in. "I never knew you and Winifred were related."

"What are you doing?" Snape skipped the usual reflexive pleasantries to suspiciously eye Winifred.

"Oh, I was apologizing to Lily." Winifred explained, still smiling. "I felt horrible about what Serpen Nott had done to her and had to admit my part in it."

Winifred turned to Lily again with an apologetic expression.

"Again, when I hoisted you up on the ceiling I had just meant it to be funny. I know my poor taste in humor really isn't an excuse but I hadn't intended for you to get hurt."

"It's all right. Really." Lily assured. "What would an education in magic be without the occasional mishap?"

Winifred turned to Snape, her black eyes shinning.

"Such an understanding, mature young lady!" Winifred praised. "I can see why you seek out her company."

Snape could have strangled Winifred to silence her insinuating tongue, but he suspected that might somehow seem suspicious.

"Well, I suppose I better make sure the rest of my House is using their time better than me." Lily excused herself. "I'll see you both later then."

"That would be nice." Winifred waved Lily off as the Gryffindor Prefect strode up the stacks. Looming over his cousin, Snape waited until he was relatively sure they were alone before speaking.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Snape repeated in a seething tone.

"Apologizing to Evans." Winifred shrugged.

"Who put you up to it?" Snape demanded. "Tudor?"

"Oh now I don't think Mary is really sorry about what happened to Lily, do you?" Winifred observed. "I mean, after the leeches."

"That's not what I meant." Snape found her coyness infuriating. "Do you expect me to believe you are suddenly capable of emotions like remorse? What game are you planning to run off of Evans's forgiving nature?"

"It's not like that." Winifred said sharply. "I'll admit, Evans forgiving me wasn't my entire motivation for apologizing to her. I didn't want you cross with me anymore so I set things right by her with owning up to my part in all this. And since she isn't holding a grudge I don't find it very particularly fair for you to then."

Winifred's reasoning was so cunning and odd it disturbed Snape slightly. He clung to his resentment of having her use Lily to manipulate him as a sobering element.

"Even if Evans changes her opinion that in no way requires me to alter mine." Snape darkly informed.

"Severus, I wish you'd reconsider your foul mood." Winifred pouted. "It wasn't right of me to tease you by putting Evans on the ceiling the other day and – "

"Did you TELL HER that's why you did it?" Snape growled grabbing Winifred by the shoulder to force her to meet his gaze somewhat.

"Of course not! I think I'm better about maneuvering a conversation than that!" Winifred sounded almost as insulted as Snape. "The point of all this is, you and I are family as well as Slytherin. We shouldn't be quarreling when we could be helping one another."

"If I necessitated or desired your help, Winifred, I would have asked for it." Snape replied harshly.

"No you wouldn't." Winifred noted her cousin's usual behavior all too well. "Severus Snape would sooner have everything catch fire around him before admit he's not in control of every tiny aspect of his life."

"Just be kindly enough not to meddle in my affairs." Snape didn't bother to deny what Winifred had said.

"I thought I was helping." Winifred stated.

"How is confusing my relationship with Evans in front of her a help to me?" Snape questioned.

Both the Slytherins emitted audible exhales from their mouths. Pushing her thin, dark hair over her shoulders, Winifred stared at Snape.

"How come you don't get nearly as upset when Mary or Aaron become inquisitive about your love life?" Winifred asked in a more curious than confrontational manner. "Is it because I know you too well, Severus?"

"It's because you're family, Winifred. You should know better." Was all Snape would reply.

"So do you forgive me yet?" Winifred pressed softly.

"If I say yes will it end this discussion?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"If you mean it, then it will." Winifred stipulated.

"You're forgiven." Snape said quickly. "Now gather your things, we'll be leaving shortly."

"Fine." Winifred agreed as she strode off.

Snape's pragmatic nature refused to believe this would be the last time he'd catch Winifred associating with Lily. Winifred's notion of helping was queered at best since it was almost always self-serving on some level. Still, Snape tolerated no one investigating his private life and he couldn't afford to have Winifred get too curious by it. Once her interest was peeked, Winifred would manage her way into every purposefully dark corner of his life, leaving no stone unturned. Her talent for complicating things was an aggravation he could do without. And, as he did with most of the women in their family, Snape had a great fear of her shrewd, unblinking eye.

Family meant inherent intimacy.

It also meant a lack of secrets.

Serpen Nott had made the fatal mistake of wandering into the back stacks of the library on his own.

That's where James found him.

That's where James grabbed the long-haired boy by the front of his uniform and forced him against the wall.

That's where James pinned Nott by the throat with his forearm.

Panicked and furious all at once, Nott kept his eyes on James.

James would have burnt a hole through Nott with his if he could.

"Not a good place to rough me up, Potter." Nott advised. "Pince hears pins drop in here."

"Don't worry, Nott, I have no intention of getting a cheap shot off you like you did with my girlfriend." James hissed through his bared teeth.

"Then what they hell are you doing?" Nott's eyes were wide.

"Challenging you." James spat. "When everyone's heading off to supper, you better be making your way out to the Quidditch Pitch with your wand. We're going to duel."

"We can't!" Nott protested. "Think Potter! Our Heads are watching us like hawks, there's no way we'll be able to meet out there without someone noticing! And even if we did, how are we supposed to explain one of us lying dazed on the Pitch after the duels decided?"

"I suppose we could always say one of us fell from the ceiling." James replied sarcastically, promoting Nott to cringe a bit. "Consider this, Nott. I. DON'T. CARE. I don't care how you get out on the Pitch, I don't care if it's all covered up. I don't care if I spend now until graduation under McGonagall's thumb for it. All I DO care about is that you're there at six sharp."

Nott looked as though he had every intention of arguing more, until James jarred him silent with a quick shove into the wall behind them.

"And you had BETTER show up, Nott, because if I have to come and get you – " James added with venom.

"You'll what?" Nott countered, slightly bold. "What's the Professor's pet going to do?"

"That's just the point, Nott." A manic smile crept over James's lips that gave Nott a moment of pause. "Who would EVER believe James Potter, Quidditch team Captain, top of his Year, possible Head Boy, trusted and popular student from a long line of well respected and beloved Wizards could ever be capable of vicious, unspeakable things? What could you possibly say to convince Dumbledore and all the others that I was responsible for whatever horrible fate that MIGHT befall you if you DON'T MEET ME ON THAT PITCH?"

"I – " Nott couldn't think of a decent reply.

"Take my advice. Be. There." James leaned so close to Nott their noses almost touched. "Because if you don't face this like a man, I'll hunt you down like an animal."

Slamming Nott into the wall once more for good measure, James released the Slytherin with a dreadful sneer and stalked into the main body of the Library leaving him to consider his options. Catching sight of Lily, James immediately discarded his menacing disposition and slid an arm around her shoulders.

"Where have you been?" Lily smiled. "I'm in dire need of your help and you're off hiding."

"Pardon?" James laughed.

"I'm too bloody short to get half the books I need!" Lily laughed as well. "Gwen has Cassidy to help her, Arabella's leading Remus about, and Sirius is doing something constructive with his time so I don't have the heart to disturb him."

"Okay, just point them out to me then." James hugged Lily a bit. "What good am I to you if I'm not looking out for you?"

"Well I'd like to think a fair amount." Lily put he arm across James's back. "Otherwise I could just replace you with a step-ladder couldn't I?"

In the attic of Gryffindor Tower, Remus and Arabella lounged with their recently acquired library books between them. They had attempted to study down in the commons with everyone else, but Sirius, Gwen, and James made it all but impossible to properly concentrate as they were entertaining everyone. Arabella didn't really mind the distraction all that much but since she had asked Remus to help her with her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay on explaining the psychology of Vampires and their habits she thought it would be good to give him her attention. Arabella was particularly worried about this assignment since Professor Heilsing's previous job was tracking such creatures and would probably be a tough grader on this.

"Have you ever thought of vampirism as a form of cannibalism?" Arabella wondered aloud to Remus who peered from over his book.

"Well I do now." Remus made a disgusted face before he became thoughtful about the concept. "Try to work it into the essay if you can though. That's a pretty novel perspective."

"Do you think?" Arabella was a bit impressed with herself. She typically considered herself to be an average witch so praise from one of her Year's top students was a big deal.

Particularly because it was Remus.

"Certainly." Remus nodded his head with a smile. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Pet."

Arabella smiled happily at Remus as she applied fresh ink to her quill.

"You're always so understanding with me." Arabella felt her grin droop a bit as she added carefully. "That's why I just don't get how you're still holding a grudge against Sirius."

"I – " Remus was caught a bit off guard by all this. "I haven't entirely forgiven him yet."

"It's just – he's been trying so desperately to win you over, Luv." Arabella informed gently. "I believe he's sincerely trying to make amends with you but you just brush him off at every turn. He's been at it for three weeks, Remus! Is your stubbornness worth your friendship?"

Sighing, Remus closed his book before looking at Arabella.

"I get where you're going on with this Arabella, but it's just not fair to ask." Remus explained a bit helplessly. "You don't know the circumstances around it all."

Slamming her own book shut, Arabella's face twisted into a truly cross expression Remus had no desire to be on the receiving end of.

"Well of course I don't understand!" Arabella snapped. "I've been walking on bloody eggshells around you pretty much ever since we started going out because you're angry with Sirius for reasons unspecified to me!"

"Yes, but – " Remus attempted.

"When he's not bending over backwards for you, Sirius is fighting on your behalf when he could very well get himself in more trouble than WHATEVER it is he has already landed himself in!" Arabella pushed on.

"Arabella – "

"And I'm sure what he did must have been right horrible for you, YOU OF ALL PEOPLE, to get bent out of shape over it, but since no one will bother to tell me what warrants you to be such a wanker about all this I'll have to insist you stop being such a ruddy child and make up with your friend!" Arabella finished as she stared at her boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath, Remus refused to allow himself to reciprocate Arabella's frustrations and anger. After all, she had a right to be upset. Since she was ignorant of his condition and how Sirius had exploited it and his trust, it would appear that he was being the stubborn, unreasonable one in all this. Still, as much of a prospective revealing his state as a werewolf would contribute to his feud with Sirius, Remus knew that wasn't what he and Arabella would be discussing after a bombshell like that.

"You're positively correct, Arabella." Remus soothed patiently. "It is unfair of me to place you in the middle of all this and I greatly apologize for how much this has to be wearing on you. However, I'm not ready to talk about what going on between myself and Sirius and I'm not ready to forgive him yet either."

"Ah." Arabella's look soured more than Remus could have thought possible as she climbed to her feet, gathering up her books.

"Arabella, please don't run off mad." Remus climbed to his own feet.

"As convenient as my sitting about and holding my tongue may be for you, Remus, I'm afraid three weeks about tops my limit." Arabella informed. "And now I'm going to be on my way before my newly liberated dialogue bites you in the ass!"

With a bratty pout, Arabella stomped over toward the door before spinning on her heel to face Remus again.

"And seeing as I'M good enough to keep YOU in the loop, this is our first fight!" Arabella added.

"But how can that be?" Remus said in a perplexed tone. "I'm not fighting with you!"

"It's not a democracy Remus!" Arabella hissed.

"So we're fighting by default?" Remus gawked. Although he had never been in a relationship this involved prior to Arabella Figg, Remus thought he would have heard something about this.

"Are you making light of all this?" Arabella accused with a flare to her blue eyes that caused Remus to be suddenly very scared of his five-foot girlfriend.

"No." Was all Remus could manage without the nervousness in his voice betraying him.

"Because I'd hate to think on top of keep secrets from me, putting me in the middle of your squabbling with friends, and all around being a git as of late you haven't decided to mock me as well!" Arabella's voice had a dangerous sort of note to it.

"Is there anything I can say that won't get you more upset with me?" Remus asked desperately.

"I'll give you a hint." Arabella frowned as she stepped through the door, slamming it behind her. Remus listened to her stomp down the stairs until the sound completely faded.

"So no." Remus muttered to himself as he collected his own things.

Heading down to his own room, Remus glowered as he stepped inside. James, Peter, and Sirius stopped in mid conversation as they noticed his surly presence, uncertain of what to say. Tossing his books on the bed, Remus turned to address his roommates.

"So are all women this mad or did I just manage to get together with the daffiest of the lot?" Remus demanded rhetorically.

"What happened with Arabella?" James's brow furrowed in worry.

"Nothing other than everything coming to a head!" Remus responded. "Since we haven't reached that phase in a relationship where I'm obligated to mention how I'm an accursed creature of the night, she's upset because I'm hiding things from her."

The three other boys exchanged glances as none of them wanted to be the first to volunteer the obvious solution to all this. More frustrated than actually angry, Remus felt as though his life was tiling off balance and there was nothing he could do to force it back on track. Continuing to rant on, Remus was only half aware of what he was saying and meant even less.

"Then she started making up things as she went along!" Remus vented. "Something mad about how we can be fighting by default if she's cross with me, never mind that I'm not cross with her! Well, I WASN'T cross with her anyway!"

Turning suddenly to James, Remus pulled at his graying sandy hair in frustration.

"Why is it there is nothing, NOTHING, you can say to a woman that will not be utterly wrong and stupid when they're upset?"

"I, well, I can't say." James stuttered. "The most experience I have is through Lily and well, she always had a right to be cross with me usually."

"Don't ask me, please." Peter requested pathetically. "Sirius probably has the most knowledge of this out of all of us."

"Well, is this standard or should I take this and Arabella's obsession with cats as a sign of some deep-rooted dementia?" Remus jerked his head toward Sirius.

Sirius appeared as though he could have done a back flip over Remus deliberately acknowledging him.

"Nah, this is normal." Sirius shrugged. "Girls run with this foggy sort of logic when they're angry that makes them think they sound normal while we're left to decipher their insane speak."

"I was TRYING to apologize to her but she kept cutting me off and twisting my words!" Remus fumed.

"Oh, that's a rookie mistake!" Sirius snorted a laugh. "You got to let her wear herself out before you even attempt to smooth things over, otherwise you're just giving her more things to get riled about."

"I should have chased after her when she stormed off." Remus groaned.

"Nope." Sirius shook his head. "That's just a bid for attention. If you play that game, mate, it's like reinforcing their bad behavior and it just makes round 2 right back on their terms! You got to let her be off and pouting long enough for her to realize she's acting like a loon. That way she'll feel pretty foolish and will be quick to accept your apology. If not then the last thing you need is some stubborn girl making you feel guilty all the time."

James felt his jaw drop as he turned to Sirius.

"And this warped mindset is what you take in with you when courting a woman?" James marveled at his best friend. "Moony will die alone if he takes HALF of this seriously, Padfoot!"

"Oh I think Remus has enough sense to know that entrusting his romantic future entirely to the perpetual bachelor would be a poor move!" Sirius grinned.

The four boys burst out laughing at Sirius and his commitment phobic advice for a few solid moments before they straightened themselves out.

"Alright, I think I'm done being your average angst-ridden teen for the time being." Remus finished chuckling.

"What was the fight about anyway?" Peter asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Well it – " Remus started before stealing a glance at Sirius.

And being in the room, the four of them laughing and joking with one another like it had been for six years, as though nothing had ever been wrong between them.

Even though he was almost always playing it by ear…

Even though he made half of it up as he went along…

Even if it was traditionally all just for a laugh…

Sirius still tried to be there for each and every one of his friends when they need him most.

Always in his own way.

And just as it had once seemed impossible to forgive him, Remus found it impossible to stay angry with Sirius any longer.

"I guess it's a moot point." Remus finished his sentence while throwing a remorseful smile at Sirius, who returned a broad and friendly one right back at his friend. Extending his hand to Sirius, Remus was happier than he had been in weeks when he accepted and shook it warmly.

"Sorry." Remus mumbled sincerely.

"Not your place to be, mate." Sirius shook his head dismissively before a smile landed on his face. "I think we should hug."

"I think I need to apologize to my girlfriend!" Remus replied with a laugh.

"Nah, just a quick one."

Sirius dragged Remus reluctantly into a brotherly embrace, causing everyone to start laughing again. Pulling out of Sirius's grip, Remus made his way out of the room.

"See you all at dinner." Remus promised as he shut the door behind him.

Peter and James turned to Sirius who was beaming.

"I think I need to invent some sort of jig to express how fantastically thrilled I am at the moment!" Sirius announced to his remaining friends. "I could kiss Arabella for getting Remus to forget he wasn't speaking to me long enough to realize he MISSED speaking with me!"

"Don't you dare! Not when he's just decided to stop hating you!" Peter looked as though he were relieved enough to cry. The tension in the group had been grating on him for weeks. "Supper's going to be great tonight with the four of us all getting along famously again!"

"I think that will have to wait until breakfast tomorrow." James interjected with a sigh. "I'm dueling Nott when we're supposed to be at dinner tonight."

"What?" Peter's eyes went wide.

"You need a Second?" Sirius offered up eagerly.

"No, it's just me and him." James shook his head.

"I don't know." Sirius frowned. "After what that bastard did to Lily I wouldn't be counting on a fair fight."

James considered this.

"Still, even if you were just there to watch my back, I think it would come off as dishonorable." James mused. "I'll go under my Invisibility Cloak. Make sure he's there alone before I face him."

"If he shows up." Peter scoffed. "Nott's a git but even he can't be thick enough to assume he has a snowman's chance against Sirius with you."

"Damn straight!" Sirius laughed manically as he recalled his brawl with the enchanted Snowman at the Yule Ball.

"He'd better show up or Slytherin will be Owling him flowers in the hospital wing." James's eyes narrowed. "Just be a pair of mates and cover for me at dinner, will you? And not a WORD to Lily. I don't know how she'll take me bloodying up Nott."

"Sure." Sirius and Peter agreed in unison and James pulled on his heirloom to leave for the pitch.

After dinner, Sirius made his way up the corridor back to the Gryffindor dorms alone. Peter had hurried through the meal to get back to the dorms and find out how James's duel went. Having made up from their spat, Remus and Arabella were being affectionate to the point of being obnoxious and were lingering in the Great Hall. Without James, Lily spent most of dinner chatting with the other 6th Year girls about various things that Sirius enjoyed listening in on. Always a useful thing to know how the female mind worked and in spite of his three older sisters and popularity with the ladies, Sirius was always finding himself learning something new.

Jumping at a phantom tap on his shoulder, Sirius's clear eyes darted around.

"James?" He spoke under his breath.

Stepping out from behind a pillar while tucking his invisibility cloak under his work robes, James had a dark expression.

"Nott stood me up." James seethed.

"Figured that coward would." Sirius sneered. "Don't worry, I'm sure karma will pay him a visit soon enough."

"Oh I'm certain of that!" James chuckled humorlessly.

It was ironic then that a panicked cry came from the next hall over. Breaking into a sprint, Sirius and James rounded the corner and saw Lily with the other 6th Year girls and a few other members of Gryffindor standing around the top of the bank of stairs leading to the dungeons.

"Run ahead and tell Madam Pomfrey what happened!" Lily commanded some 4th Years as she took control of the situation. Turning to the a couple 3rd Years, Lily gestured them off. "Hurry back to the Great Hall and see if there are any teachers still there and bring them back here!"

"What happened?" James demanded.

"It's Nott. Somehow he tumbled down the entire flight of stairs." Lily informed with a troubled expression. "Some Ravenclaws are looking after him. He's unconscious and fairly battered."

James and Sirius peered down the stairs to see two boys crouched next to Serpen Nott. The position of his arm and leg suggested they were broken and a slight amount of blood oozed off his brow.

"Do you reckon he just happened to trip?" Sirius questioned, though he didn't sound all that certain himself.

"I – I couldn't say." Lily shook her head, distraught a bit. She had no love of Nott, but she wouldn't have wished this pathetic, broken state he currently was in on anyone. James put his arm around Lily to comfort her.

"Perhaps Nott will be able to say." Millicent commented hopefully through both her hands which were covering her mouth. "I'd hate to think some anonymous person was walking amongst us and capable of this."

"What will he say?" Lily mumbled slightly dazed.

She turned to James and Sirius who weren't entirely sure the question had been meant rhetorically.


	23. Delicious Irony and Other Acquired Taste...

Delicious Irony and Other Acquired Tastes

By: Oy! Angelina

Once Professor Dumbledore and other members of the faculty arrived upon the scene of Serpen Nott's accident, questions started flying through the air about what had happened that no one possessed the answers to.

Or were refusing to be forthcoming with.

As soon as it was determined that there was little the students could contribute for the time being, Professor Dumbledore instructed everyone to go about their business and avoid the corridor until for the time being. Professor McGonagall informed Lily that she would like to address her House on the matter shortly and especially wanted the 6th Years to be present.

Asking James and Sirius to make sure everyone heading back to or already at the dormitories know that Professor McGonagall wants a word, Lily headed off to the Great Hall and Library to find as many stray Gryffindor as possible.

A little over a half hour later, Professor McGonagall, along with a majority of her House, stood in the common room facing one another.

"I'm sure as you all are most likely aware of by now, a Slytherin 6th Year by the name of Serpen Nott was found unconscious at the bottom of the dungeon stairwell." Professor McGonagall spoke in a clear but urgent voice.

"It is the opinion of the faculty at this moment that what happened to Nott was probably an accident until he comes around to provide us with any evidence to the contrary. It should be said that if anyone either saw or heard anything that would suggest something, or someone, other than misfortune itself is responsible for Nott's current state, I would advice you to come forward at once. It would be better for all people concerned if any information is volunteered rather than found out and I would personally be disappointed to discover that anyone in this House had something to do with such a vicious act."

Scanning the room for any suspicious reactions, Professor McGonagall sighed as she was met with a sea of blank stare.

"No then?" Professor McGonagall observed. "Well, hopefully this will be the last I have to say on this matter. Everyone but the 6th Years are dismissed for the moment."

With the remainder of their House filing out towards the Library or to their rooms, the Gryffindor 6th Years remained with their House Head in the tower commons expectantly.

"You detentions are scheduled to start tomorrow morning after breakfast. I expect you all to remain in the Great Hall until I collect you." McGonagall announced. "You all, along with the Slytherins, will be divided into three separate groups that will assist Professor Brewsteem in her Potions work. You will be given the details of such tomorrow, but anticipate on this occupying a majority of your morning and afternoon. I would hope you do not need to be reminded that you are expected to behave to the best of your abilities."

A round of "Yes Ma'am"s circulated throughout the room with the exception of Gwen McGinnis who was raising his hand. Receiving a nod from McGonagall, Gwen spoke up.

"But what about Nott, I mean with him being in the hospital wing and all?" Gwen questioned.

"I'd like to think, Miss McGinnis, we'd be more worried about Mr. Nott's health than his discipline at the moment." Professor McGonagall sharply commented, prompting Gwen to fall sheepish and silent. Scanning the other 6th Years, McGonagall drew her statement to a conclusion. "We'll I believe I shall take my leave of you for the evening so you can attend to your studies and be well rested for tomorrow."

Once it was certain that Professor McGonagall had departed from the dormitories, the 6th Year Gryffindors began addressing the topic of Nott and one another.

"So what's everyone's take on this?" Cassidy prompted.

"Maybe there isn't one." Peter suggested in his usual awkward manner. "I mean, Nott could have just tripped. I do it all the time."

"That would be too bloody convenient if you ask me." Arabella shook her head. "Come on, what are the odds Nott takes a friendly tumble in the same week he attacks Lily?"

"I think attack might be a strong word, Arabella." Lily interjected.

"He broke your arm, Lily and he did it on purpose!" Sirius reminded indignantly. "I don't care what it sounds like but I'm not going to be losing any sleep over poor Nott tonight and how he reaped what he sewed."

"Sirius, you shouldn't talk like that." Millicent frowned disapprovingly. "What if someone hears you and thinks you did it?"

"No one will." Gwen countered. "I'll bet it was the Slytherin."

"I don't know if they've taken to turning on their own after they were so quick to back up that wanker Avery in Potions." Remus pointed out skeptically.

"Well maybe not all of them." Sirius relented. "But I can name one who'd be inclined."

"And here's where we blame the woes of the world on Severus Snape." Lily guessed, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be naïve, Lily." Sirius replied gravely. "You may wish to believe otherwise, but I wouldn't put much past Snape when it comes to you."

"Stop it." Lily glared. "You want to have your feud with Snape, I can't stop you, but I refuse to be an excuse for you two to bicker any more than you both already do."

"Sirius might have a point." Arabella gently stated. "I know you think of you and Snape as just friends or whatever you call it, but maybe Snape doesn't feel the same way. And maybe he didn't take to kindly to Nott dropping you like a stone off a bridge."

"But I don't think he would." Millicent argued. "He's a Prefect and attacking a member of his own House is just so – "

"Slytherin?" Cassidy threw out sarcastically.

"ASSUMING" Lily began in an extremely skeptical voice. "That Severus did harbor some not entirely platonic feelings for me and those sorts of emotions provoked him to attack Nott then shouldn't we be suspecting James as well? He IS my boyfriend but none of you are pointing any fingers at him."

James felt every eye in the room turn on him.

"Don't tell me you think I did it." James scanned the faces of his friends and peers.

If they did, no one admitted it aloud.

"Of course not." Lily affirmed throwing a cross look at everyone who was quiet to James's question. "I know you're not capable of something like that, James. I was merely using you as a counterpoint for faulty logic is all."

Feeling slightly guilty about his previous inclination to duel Nott, James returned to being silent as he listened to the opinions of those around him.

"Well if it's not Snape then who?" Sirius demanded a little irritably.

"Maybe he DID just trip." Lily shrugged. "In any sense, I'm sure Nott will be able to mention something to the contrary once he comes around."

"What if he tries to blame one of us?" Remus mentioned thoughtfully. "I wouldn't put it past Nott to try and save face or just get the lot of us in more trouble than we already are."

"Well he'll just have to prove it won't he?" Lily noted. "Most of us have more than one person who can lay claim to where we were."

"Not all of us." Cassidy reported grimly. "Peter went off ahead of the House back to the dorms, Sirius broke off from the group fer a bit, and James didn't come about fer dinner at all."

The three boys turned to Cassidy with scandalous expressions before the tall, dark girl waved them off.

"Oh stop it, I'm not accusing ye! Even I left the table fer a bit to powder my nose, you gits." Cassidy scowled defensively. "I'm just saying it's going to look suspicious fer the lot of us if Nott takes to pointing fingers."

"Well, there's no sense in worrying about it unless that actually happens." Lily sighed. "Let's just do a bit of homework and try to take our minds off this night and the day we can expect tomorrow."

Murmuring in agreement, the Gryffindors made there ways up to the dormitories to retrieve their study supplies. Lily placed a hand on James's shoulder to keep him back with her for a moment.

"Where exactly were you around dinner, James?" Lily inquired softly.

"Lily, you're not suggesting – " James's voice was wounded.

"All I know is Peter and Sirius claimed you were feeling ill and weren't up to dinner." Lily locked eyed with James. "But I find you bounding up with Sirius once Nott was discovered not seeming all that under the weather to me."

"I – " James wasn't sure what to say for himself.

He didn't want Lily to think he had anything to do with Nott's fall but he worried that the truth would get her more than cross with him since he doubted Lily would sing his praises as her gallant hero once she found out he had set out to hex Nott. Still, James had long since gotten out of the habit of using lies and misdirection to handle his problems with Lily. James felt his hand rake self-consciously through his hair.

"Alright." James agreed softly. "I cornered Nott this afternoon and challenged him to a duel on the Pitch. That was the last I saw him though, he didn't show for the fight."

Lily's mouth fell slightly open as she listened to James in evident disbelief.

"Did you threaten him?" Lily pressed.

"Yes." James admitted. "I told him I'd, well, that I'd hunt him down if he didn't show for the duel."

Lily's eyes were huge as she stared at James.

"I didn't, of course!" James insisted quickly.

"But why did you do it in the first place?" Lily demanded in a distraught tone.

"Why do you think?" James couldn't meet Lily's eyes at the moment. "He hurt you, Lily. He meant to do it and he took pleasure in it. I'm not going to pretend it was my finer moment in life, but I couldn't just be content with glaring at him and crossing my fingers that retribution would come around his way."

"James." Lily brought a hand to his face as a sympathetic overtook her expression. "I don't want you to go about avenging me. That sort of thing poisons a person. I don't want you to tarnish the noble man you are on what you think is my behalf."

"I know it's not what you want to hear or think of me, but I'll be damned if anyone thinks they can hurt you and get away with it. I'm sorry; I can't pretend you aren't the most important thing to me." James whispered. Gently, James placed a hand his own hand over the one Lily held against his face and closed his eyes, absorbed in the comfort of the touch. "You could ask me to give up Quidditch, break my wand and live as a Muggle, or even stop breathing if it suited you, but you can't tell me to forsake you like that. If you have any idea of how it is I feel for you, you'd know its impossible Lily."

Lily studied James's conflicted expression even as he kept his eyes close and understood his plight.

To honor someone or to protect them.

There was nothing fair about such a choice so how could Lily fault James for getting stuck with it?

Lily believed that he hadn't done a thing to Nott aside from challenge him and would defend his character as much as she could if Nott tried to push the issue.

We protect those we love in our own way.

Lily chose to face most every peril with her own love for those involved while James would stare down certain death if the right conviction was behind him.

How could she ask him to betray that courage anymore than he would have her abandon her compassion?

Although both had their own ways of going about it, the important thing was that Lily and James cared for one another.

Placing her other hand on James's cheek, Lily drew his face down a bit so she could meet her lips with his. Placing his hands around her, James drew her up a bit more as he leaned in closer so he could extend this kiss more passionately.

As Lily's mouth embraced James, she hoped he would feel just how much she understood him and her willingness to stand at his side with the expressive motions woven into her kiss.

As James mouth embraced Lily, he prayed she knew how precious she was to him and how her presence somehow made his a life worth living as he returned every intimate gesture Lily paid him with equally adoring ones of his own.

As most of the students began clearing out of the Great Hall after breakfast on Saturday, The 6th Year Gryffindors and Slytherin's lingered at their tables with an utter lack of anticipation for what their day would mostly entail. Eventually, their respective Heads came around to collect their students and usher them to the main corridor to be assigned their detentions.

Trailing after Professor Heilsing the Slytherins, with the exception of Serpen Nott, all had mutinous expression with Snape bringing up the rear along with his cousin, Winifred Wilkes. Snapes motivation was he his lack of desire to be anywhere in close proximity to Heilsing if he could help it while Winifred simply decided to keep him company.

"You didn't explain to me why you're serving detention with the rest of us." Winifred noted curiously.

"Professor Heilsing didn't approve of my subduing Black." Snape reported dispassionately, although a flicker of amusement passed over his eyes as he recalled the event. "Apparently she considers salting Black's wounds to be a cruel and unusual means of rendering someone inoperable."

"I thought it was a little funny considering how much he antagonizes you." Winifred smirked. "Besides, it's no worse than Evans showering Mary with leeches. Which was ALSO a little funny considering how much Mary antagonizes HER."

"Pity you aren't the disciplinary figure at Hogwarts." Snape smirked as well.

On occasion, Winifred's ironic taste in humor reminded Snape of why he didn't loath interacting with her.

"Tragic that Serpen couldn't be here. Whatever will we do without his shrill whining?" Winifred observed insincerely before glancing over to her cousin. "Do you suspect someone did attack him? One of the Gryffindors?"

"It's doubtful." Snape decided. "Nott's a fool; I wouldn't be surprised to learn he tripped over his own two feet."

"What makes you so certain?" Winifred probed. "Evans is a popular girl with many chivalrous friends and lovers."

"There was nothing chivalrous about Nott's attack assuming that was, in fact, what it was. Although he doesn't lack the imagination for such a plot, Potter is far too direct in his approach for something so underhanded. While I don't find this sort of thing to be beneath Black, he's being run on a short leash these days which makes him unlikely. As for the rest, well, they're either too inept or weak-stomached for such a thing." Snape rationalized. "If this was planned, it's better suited for our House more than the Gryffindors."

"Regardless of who did it, I really don't know why people are so beside themselves; Serpen is just unconscious and is expected to come around in a day or so." Winifred commented casually. "I swear, you'd think he actually broke his neck by the way everyone's acting."

Snape recognized that dialogue.

It was a paraphrase of Nott's comment about Lily only a few days earlier.

Was Winifred just being ironic, as she had a habit of being or was she hinting that she may be implicated in Nott's current state?

Before he could inquire into what Winifred meant, Heilsing and McGonagall beaconed for their collective attention. Once everyone was silent and facing forward, Professor McGonagall addressed the students around her.

"Professors Brewsteem, Heilsing, and myself have devised three separate tasks of which you will be assigned to for the larger portion of the day." McGonagall announced. "Potter, Black, Lestrange, and Macnair."

The four boys snapped to even further attention at the mention of their names.

"You four will report to the Gameskeeper's hut." Professor McGonagall instructed. "From there, you will follow the directions of Rubeus Hagrid in retrieving potions components from living specimens as specified on these lists."

Distributing four sheets of parchment to each of the boys, they scanned the lists with inquisitive eyes.

"Excuse me, Professor." James interjected. "Most of these creatures are in the school stables, but there are a few – "

"Yes, Mr. Potter." McGonagall cut James off. "I suppose you four can expect to travel into the Forbidden Forest to acquire the rest unless Hagrid is aware of any viable options that I, myself, am not."

Most of the students shifted uncomfortable at the thought of venturing into the Dark Forest neighboring Hogwarts and purposefully seeking out the inhabitants of it. For their part, James, Sirius, Lestrange, and Macnair did their best to look undaunted by this assignment.

"Return to your dormitories and gather your outdoor apparel and wands if you are without them." Professor McGonagall ordered. "You four are expected to join the Gameskeeper in no more than ten minutes or there will be severe consequences to be faced."

Shrugging, Sirius threw a confidant smile and a wink to the other Gryffindors while James passed close enough to Lily to touch her hand briefly before he and Sirius headed off. Aaron Lestrange waved to Mary Tudor with a reassuring smile that she could only nod in response to.

"Figg and Snape." Professor Heilsing's grey eyes darted between the petite blonde and the dark and lean Prefect. "You will go to the Herbology Greenhouses and extract outlined potion elements from there. Shouldn't be too much of a chore since Miss Figg is apparently well-versed in Herbology and Mr. Snape lacks any ignorance of Potion making."

Snape gave no response to this pairing other than his lips pressing into a firm, down-turned line. Arabella rolled her eyes and made a disgruntled noise. Several Gryffindors and Slytherin began to shake their heads as they could only imagine the quarrelling that was expected to occur between these polar opposite personalities. Apart for Arabella and Snape themselves, Remus appeared to be the most outwardly affected person by this arrangement as he distinctly frowned with his brow furrowed.

"Get your Dragon's hide gloves and meet up at the Greenhouse." Heilsing insisted. "I or Professor Sprout will check on you from time to time to make sure you're both contributing and being productive."

Watching Snape and Arabella take their lists from Professor Heilsing and walking off without looking at one another, Remus felt Peter nudge his side.

"Do you suppose Snape will tell Arabella about your, er, condition?" Peter asked his friend in a nervous whisper.

"I can't say." Remus admitted. His jaw moved as though it were firmly locked in place. "But I doubt there's very little Snape would stop sort of to antagonize Arabella this afternoon."

"The remainder of you shall join Professor Brewsteem in the Potions classroom where you will be making potions according to her specifications for the remainder of your detention." Professor McGonagall notified the remaining Gryffindors and Slytherins, before her eyes stopped on Millicent Meeks. "Except for you, Millicent. Haven't you been told that you are exempt from this detention?"

"Oh, I know that Professor." Millicent smiled politely. "However, even though it is not required of me, I would feel guilty to abandon my Housemates."

"Very well then." McGonagall nodded with approval at Millicent's sense of loyalty.

"Cauldron polisher." Hekate Undercross breathed to Mary Tudor and Florence Copia who started to snicker.

"Now if everyone would follow me, I shall escort you to the dungeons." The Deputy-Headmistress called as the remaining Slytherins and Gryffindors proceeded behind her.

It was little surprise that James Potter, Sirius Black, Aaron Lestrange, and Walden Macnair were assigned to enter the Forbidden Forest. Of their Year, the four of them were all athletic and solid in build with Sirius and Macnair broad shouldered and sturdy from roughhousing and James and Lestrange spry and reflexive motions thanks to their years at Quidditch. And, with the exception of Macnair, were all very talented in wielding magic.

Still, the four weren't particularly eager to have something wander up to them in the Dark Forest with the intention of testing them on these things.

Sirius and James had found their way out to the Gameskeeper's hut before Macnair and Lestrange, and neither of the boys missed the Slytherins' company. Discovering that Rubeus Hagrid was not in his hut or anywhere else in sight, James and Sirius felt straying about to look for him would only land them in more trouble. Standing with the sharp and cold wind piercing at them, Sirius and James hugged their winter cloaks to them as they waited for their detention to start.

"You reckon we could get in a quick game of 'Spark in the Dark' before everyone meets up with us?" Sirius questioned as his teeth chattered through his broad grin. "Probably warm us up a bit."

"Yeah, well I don't find spontaneous combustion to be a particularly appealing plan to run with." James replied shaking his head, slightly amused. Feigning disappointment, Sirius pulled out his wand and summoned some Bluebell flames to keep them company and provide a little warmth.

"We'll it's certainly a pity that we're heading out into the forest with Lestrange and Macnair for company." Sirius scowled. "Speaking of which, what's keeping those gits? Always said they couldn't find their way out of the dungeons with two hands and a lantern."

"I really don't mind them not being around. I've wanted to talk to you in private a bit since yesterday." James led in cautiously as he stole a glance at Sirius. Noting the earnest in James's voice, Sirius provided him with his full attention as James continued. "You and I are the best of mates and we've stood by one another through many a stupid thing and have never kept secrets between us. And I wanted to make sure you knew that as far as I'm concerned, that hasn't changed."

"I couldn't agree more with you, James." Sirius nodded solemnly as he studied his friend.

A strained silence held between them as James and Sirius both appeared to be waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Sirius pressed the conversation on.

"So you did attack Nott." Sirius stated quietly.

"I most certainly did NOT!" James spat out indignantly.

"Well Bloody Hell, Prongs!" Sirius retuned agitated. "What was with your 'Best Friends Forever' pep-talk then?"

"I thought you did it, so I was just showing you that I'd be understanding about it and it was okay for you to admit it!" James explained.

"Why would you think I did it?" Sirius demanded. James simply raised his eyebrow with a skeptical expression, causing Sirius to roll his eyes.

"Okay! I could think of about a half dozen reasons why I'd pummel Nott before he dropped Lily, but I'm still innocent!" Sirius insisted. "I just barely avoided expulsion for 'attacking' one Slytherin and I don't feel particularly like antagonizing everyone on the subject by roughing up another."

"So neither of us did it?" James confirmed running his hands through his hair. "Sort of begs the question of who did, now doesn't it?"

"I don't know, but I'd probably shake the bloke's hand on it." Sirius shrugged half-serious. "I reckon Nott will mention who it is once he comes around."

"Yeah, I'm sure my name will pop up once or twice in conversation." James muttered, fully expecting Nott to pin the whole incident on him. It wouldn't be all that hard to once he told the faculty how he had threatened him in the library, challenged him to a duel, and vowed awful consequences if he failed to show.

"Yeah, well he's going to have another nasty trip if he even considers it." Sirius shared James's dark sentiments.

"So did Evans get the hang of flying yet, Potter?" Macnair questioned, causing Lestrange to snort a laugh as the two approached the Gryffindor boys. "Seemed as though she almost had it right before she hit the ground."

"Don't be so demanding of her, Macnair." James returned with a wicked grin. "Considering she had just got done smacking you about, I imagine Lily was a tad worn out."

"Truly!" Sirius agreed. "After all, there's barely enough of Lily to pour into a cauldron. Sundering a troll like Macnair probably took a lot out of the wee girl."

It was Sirius and James turn to laugh. Scowling Lestrange glared at James.

"Yeah, well Evans must be positively exhausted after what she did to Serpen." Lestrange sarcastically interjected. James and Sirius's expression went stony.

"Lily didn't touch Nott." James bristled. "It's not in her character."

"Yeah I'll be sure to hang a halo over her head after she threw a liter of leeches on my girlfriend." Lestrange threw back with a flare in his eyes.

As unconventional as Lestrange's relationship with Mary Tudor may be in the minds of most others, they still cared for one another as best as their positions and demeanors would allow.

"Not like Tudor gave her much of a choice." James snorted. "Your poor love was fixing to hex Lily even though she KNEW she didn't have a wand."

"All's fair, Potter." Lestrange smirked.

"Yeah, well I imagine a second-rate Witch like Mary Tudor needs all the advantages she can get." James spat. "And, as Lily was gracious enough to demonstrate through Tudor back in Potions, you need more than a sadistic personality, deranged mind, and a wand to hold your own in most scrapes."

Lestrange practically growled at James's criticisms of his girlfriend as his displeasure was written clear across his face.

"Well next time you get back to your resourceful, Mudblood darling, Potter, why not ask her when I get my turn in the rotation?" Lestrange snarled with a cruel smile on his lips.

"What the hell are you prattling on about?" James knew he'd probably regret whatever Lestrange was plotting to say, but he wanted to know why, exactly, he was about to kick his teeth in for.

"I'm just saying Evans seems to have a few inadequacy issues around compensating for her dirty blood. Pathetic enough she plays at being able to prance on water and whatnot for the Professors, but she's got to prove she's good enough by trying to shag every pure-blood with top marks at Hogwarts." Lestrange was taking great pleasure in his theories about Lily and even more by James's reactions to them.

"You're going the right way for a bloodied up nose, Lestrange." James warned through a snarl. Sirius nodded at his side and looked more than prepared to jump in if another fight broke out with the Slytherins.

Shrugging with a satisfied grin, Lestrange faced Macnair but spoke more than loud enough for James and Sirius to hear.

"You know what I'm talking about, Walden. First she was about with Black, but he was too bloody thick to take proper advantage of her attentions. Then Severus, of course he's far too smart and refined to fall for some Mudblood tease's advances. I reckon Potter's the only one stupid enough to actually believe Evans is interested in anything more than his good blood and better name." Lestrange spoke casually to his Housemate who was broadly smiling at the Gryffindors expense. Stealing a glance at James, Lestrange added.

"Of course, if Lily ever gets bored comforting orphans, I'm sure I can talk Mary into letting bygones be bygones in the interest of some behind closed doors sort of fun."

Unable to stomach this slander of Lily any longer, James started making long strides over to Lestrange while grabbing for his wand.

"SAY IT AGAIN, LESTRANGE!" James challenged seething. "I'LL CURSE YOU SO BLOODY HARD YOUR ENTIRE SODDING HOUSE WILL FEEL IT!"

"There's the James Potter we all know and adore!" Lestrange taunted as he moved to meet James. "I'M SURE SERPEN NOTT COULD TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR NOBLE SENSE OF JUSTICE!"

Retaining the sense to keep their respective friends apart, Sirius grabbed hold of James as Macnair restrained Lestrange. Catching sight of Rubeus Hagrid emerging from the woods, the boys quickly adjusted themselves to appear less like being at the verge of blows.

"Don' even bother play'n innocent with me." Hagrid warned. "I imagine yeh had half the creatures in the forest all riled with all yer shouting."

The boys said nothing in response; James and Sirius had slightly apologetic expressions on their faces while Lestrange and Macnair didn't appear to be especially thrilled with having Hagrid reprimand them.

"Well, no sense in dawdl'n 'bout!" Hagrid sighed as he gestured for the four to come along with him. "Probably best if we go an' find everything we'll be need'n from the Forest being as that's the hardest part in all this. I've spent most of the morning track'n down some of the creatures we're expected teh find an' I have teh recommend yeh stay close teh each other."

Trekking after Hagrid into the untamed terrain of the Forbidden Forest, Lestrange and Macnair feel a few strides behind the Gameskeeper and the Gryffindors as they had little desire to share either of their company. Walking on either side of Hagrid, the gigantic man glanced between Sirius and James.

"So, yeh Gryffindors are with me fer fight'n with the Slytherin are yeh?" Hagrid observed. "Good to know some Hogwarts traditions never die out."

James and Sirius shared a grin before turning back to Hagrid.

"We pride ourselves on showing off school spirit." James joked.

Sirius extended his gloved hand to Hagrid.

"I'm Sirius Black and this is my friend, James Potter." Sirius introduced themselves formally.

"Ah, so yer the lads the teachers speak 'bout half the time!" Hagrid smiled knowingly. "When they're not talking yeh two up as their best students I get an earful on how yer driving the lot of them up the castle walls."

Sirius and James grinned more at their fame and infamy.

"You know what they say about brilliant minds; tend to do bad things when they get bored." Sirius smirked before checking to see if Lestrange and Macnair were listening before he got a bit more serious. "Anyway, Mr. Hagrid, I had the intention of seeking you out to thank you for your help with what happened New Years, but I've been kept under pretty guarded lock and key these days."

"I'd imagine so." Hagrid nodded his bearded head. "Still, no need teh be thank'n me. If it's one thing I'm familiar with its biting off more than yeh can chew from a situation."

"You're certainly a very sympathetic sort of man!" Sirius marveled. Hagrid was probably the only person who hadn't responded to his prank with understanding, rather than overwhelming outrage or disappointment.

"Well, I'm o' the mind that few people are in the position teh be judg'n others too harshly." Hagrid rationalized thoughtfully. "And if it's one thing the great Albus Dumbledore has taught me, it's that some people are due a little bit of compassion their way. Along with second chances."

"Well said!" James praised. Professor Dumbledore had a habit of saying extraordinarily wise things and anyone who cared to recognize that was more or less alright in James's book.

"Yeah, well – " Hagrid trailed off, remembering his position as an authority figure. "I imagine we should be putting an end teh this social call since yeh two are supposed to be in detention and all. But if yeh two are ever so inclined or available teh do so, why not stop by my hut fer afternoon tea."

"Certainly." James agreed.

"Once Professor McGonagall lets up a bit, I'll be sure to, Mr. Hagrid." Sirius promised apologetically. "However, I wouldn't count on that anytime soon."

"Ah well, young Master Black, just stop in once yeh get chance." Hagrid patted him on the shoulder in a good-natured kind of way. "But enough with this 'Mr. Hagrid' talk, plain ol' Hagrid will due just fine!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Hagrid called to Lestrange and Macnair.

"Yeh two better hurry along in pace." Hagrid warned. "Lots o' creatures 'round here like teh pick off the stragglers. That way the rest o' the group doesn't notice right away."

Taking quick strides as they glanced about, Lestrange and Macnair rejoined the others.

It was a muggy climate in the Herbology greenhouses as Arabella and Snape attempted to complete the tasks on their list without having to interact with one another any more than necessary. True to her word, Professor Heilsing or Professor Sprout poked their heads in periodically to give the two students further instructions or just make sure they hadn't turned their gardening spades and pruning sheers on one another yet.

After an hour of silence, Arabella paused to rub her tired fingers through her Dragon's hide gloves.

"I can tell you this much, I have no desire to openly brawl with your House if this is what I have to look forward to." Arabella sighed aloud.

"Forgive me, Figg. Were you under the impression I cared to have a discussion with you?" Snape replied dismissively.

Glaring hostilely at Snape, Arabella was impressed by his natural talent for always managing to be horrible company.

"Fine, be the nasty little man you are." Arabella observed sourly as she was pruning some Alihotsy from presumably a Hysteria potion. "I really don't know where you get off being cross since this is barely a punishment for you, in my opinion. I mean, you'd have probably spent the day making potions for fun anyway."

"I assure you, Figg, gathering pus from Bubotubors so our oily skinned peers can treat their acne is not my idea of an enjoyable Saturday." It was impossible to discern whether Snape was sneering at Figg or the disgusting looking plant he was milking pungent smelling yellow pus into a jar from.

"Yes I can see how doing something that benefits someone other than yourself would be such a waste of your time." Arabella sarcastically commented. "After all, if you weren't cutting up others with your snide remarks, how else could you raise your self-esteem if it wasn't at another's expense?"

"Don't even pretend to know me, Figg." Snape hissed, irritated by her chatter. "Not when you're too thick to notice what's right in front of you."

Rather than play Snape's usual round of mind games, Arabella flashed a smirk his way.

"Oh now, Severus, if you're planning on coming on to me, you should know I'm taken." Arabella teased to harass Snape.

"By my lunar calendar you're free at least once a month." Snape muttered dryly before shuddering in a repulsed manner and returning to his work.

Arabella raised her eyebrow to this, unable to decide that Snape had meant by his comment. It was hard too concentrate on that too much since she was a little preoccupied with being indignant about Snape acting so appalled by the thought of ever dating her. Not that she wanted Snape to be attracted to her, but Arabella resented being thought of as anything other than the smashing, adorable girl she knew she was.

Pausing for a minute to compose herself, Arabella swallowed a little bit a dislike and a whole lot of pride as she approached Snape.

"Look, our usual mean-spirited banter aside, I need to know a few things that you might have the answers to." Arabella confessed seriously.

Moderately intrigued by her unexpected request but still utterly annoyed by her presence, Snape turned to Arabella.

"And what makes you think I would have knowledge of anything you would wish to know?" Snape demanded in a silky voice. "More importantly, what makes you think I would tell you even if I did?"

"Because, you notice things I simply don't. It's just in your nature." Arabella admitted with a slight loathing at having to. "And I'm willing to bet your brutal honesty coupled with your need to wound people makes it likely you'll tell me."

Considering this momentarily, Snape stared at Arabella.

"Well, Figg, what do you believe I know that you don't?" Snape prompted.

"What happened New Years Eve?" Arabella asked softly.

"Your friends didn't tell you?" Snape was noticeably amused by this. "Lupin didn't tell you?"

"No." Arabella adverted her eyes. "All I know is Remus hated Sirius for a bit because of it but now they're fine and everyone just tip toes about the subject like its some grand secret. I just hate the feeling that everyone knows something but I'm not good enough to be let in on it."

Such an incredibly tempting invitation, Snape thought. He was curious what Figg's reaction would be once she learned about Remus's cursed plight as werewolf. More so, he was curious why Lupin was keeping her in the dark. Guessing that Lupin didn't trust Figg with the knowledge of his condition or suspected she would reject him upon discovering it, Snape mulled over being firsthand to witness the shocked if not appalled expression Arabella Figg would produce.

"If Lupin won't tell you then it's not my place to." Snape's tone had a finite quality to it.

He had little interest in being caught up in the lover's quarrels of Gyrffindor House. More importantly, he had been instructed by the Headmaster himself to be discreet about Lupin's lycanthropy and if a blindly trusting individual such as Lupin didn't see fit to trust Figg with his secret, Snape saw no reason whatsoever why he should.

Figg herself seemed entirely displeased with this reluctance.

"You're just looking to be a bugger about all this, aren't you?" Arabella placed her hands on her hips angrily.

"However you prefer to look at it." Snape said with complete indifference. "Anything else you care to inquire about, Figg, or can we return to much appreciated silence?"

"I wanted to ask you about Nott." Arabella insisted.

"I'm sure you meant accuse." Snape's eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry; I don't recall seeing you in Divinations class ever so don't go around and predict the things I intend to say!" Arabella snapped. "If Nott had been poisoned, I'd suspect it was you but that's not the case. All I wanted to know is if you have any idea who might be responsible."

Snape had his suspicions, but he had little desire to hinder his investigations with Arabella blabbing his theories about.

"Nothing certain." Snape told the blonde. "I imagine my theories are no different from the ones you and your friends have been entertaining in your common room."

"Well, since you ARE a Prefect and since I told Lily this earlier, I may as well offer up my theory to you also." Arabella didn't wait for Snape to invite her opinion. "Whoever attacked Nott, assuming that's what really happened, was impulsive about it. That's how I know it's not you. The cold and cunning would have just hexed the prat in a subtle fashion. Let's face it, a shove down the stairs lacks any tact or plotting and leaves a lot of questions to be answered."

Leave it to a fool to point out something in plain sight that everyone else had missed.

"Interesting perspective, Figg." Snape mused, lost in his thoughts.

"Did YOU just compliment ME?" Arabella spoke as though it were a truly comical notion.

"Return to your pruning, won't you?" Snape rolled his eyes.

As astounding as the idea was, Figg had given Snape something to think about. The attack did lack a certain finesse, which narrowed down the suspects quite a bit. Although he had never suspected them truly, Lily or Potter would have executed a better plot if they had been so inclined. He had considered Aaron Lestrange or Mary Tudor using Nott to bring suspicion on Lily, Potter, or Gryffindor all together, but this lacked their black touch.

The assault was sloppy, which brought Peter Pettigrew or Gwen McGinnis into speculation. But it was also brash and aggressive, which meant Walden Macnair, Cassidy Kinkade, and most specifically Sirius Black were very likely.

But what about Lupin and Figg?

Stealing a glance at the blonde, Snape remembered it had been the two of them that had ganged up on Serpen Nott during the Potions brawl. Perhaps unfinished business for one or both of them?

And this wasn't even bringing mention of his own possible hand in all this.

Although his relationship with Lily greatly resembled a splintering pane of glass, threatening to break with every additional sign of stress to it Snape was beyond displeased with what Nott had done to her. Retributive measures had crossed his mind more than once. And many students at Hogwarts entertained vivid assumptions about his regard of Lily that some whispered while other taunted. All this made him a very plausible suspect.

So many motives.

So many suspects.

And Snape had to recognize that he, himself, was amongst them.

The detention in the Potions classroom was exceptionally monotonous labor as the students present were assigned to make various mixtures to restock the medical potions and drafts in the Hospital Wing that they had used after their fighting as well as an extra surplus to keep in supply. Considering they had learned and perfected making these specific concoctions in their first few years at Hogwarts, the 6th Year Gryffindors and Slytherins were more than productive but entirely lacked stimulation by the project. To make things more boring, Professor Brewsteem had them all stationed off on their own and were forbidden to speak unless it had something to do with potion brewing as a precaution against anyone enjoying themselves or starting any more fights.

Just past noon, Brewsteem announced a half hour break from their detention for lunch. Leaving their cauldrons to simmer, the students sat themselves at whatever tables weren't being used for potion work and ate sandwiches. Since the Gryffindors and Slytherins had taken the liberty of separating themselves and their conversations were quiet and civil, Professor Brewsteem figured it wasn't worth the effort and argument it would require to make them eat in silence.

"Bloody hell, I think I would have preferred the Forbidden Forest to making countless flasks of welt ointment." Gwen McGinnis announced with a mouth full of turkey and swiss.

"Yeah, be sure teh send us all a post from between the teeth of whatever big and nasty thing gobbles ye up." Cassidy rolled her eyes, before catching sight of Lily dawning a concerned expression. "I don't mean James of course. I only said that about Gwen because she couldn't find her way out of her work robes without a map and a guide."

"Hey!" Gwen cried indignantly, spitting half her sandwich out on Peter in the process.

Both Gwen and Peter turned bright red as the rest of the Gryffindors snickers a bit, as well as a few Slytherin who noticed.

"Oh, Peter, terribly sorry!" Gwen apologized.

"Not at all, Gwen." Sighing, Peter removed his handkerchief and began dabbing at the pieces of food. Standing up, Peter smiled weakly to the rest of the table. "Pardon me while I clean up."

Making his way over to the nearest sink, Peter wet his handkerchief to get at the mustard on his shirt. Rising from their own table with a pitcher, Winifred Wilkes strode over to join him with, what appeared to be, the intent to refill their table's water. Casually Winifred began talking with Peter, but they kept their voices far too low for them to be eavesdropped upon.

Warily the Gryffindors watched the interhouse fraternizing.

"Now what's she up to?" Gwen sneered, finally swallowing her food.

"Knowing Wilkes I would guess teasing or flirting but perhaps I just have a vulgar mind." Remus interjected with a smile to show he was only half-serious.

"Peter better watch himself." Millicent commented with concern. "I hear such scandalous rumors about those Slytherin girls it wouldn't be proper for me to repeat them."

"We've all heard those rumors, Millicent." Lily observed as she poured herself a fresh glass of pumpkin juice. "I would wager they're incredibly sensationalized."

"You would know, what with consorting with the enemy and all." Gwen joked with Lily.

"Severus isn't all that bad if you show him there's more to you than opposing House colors or a will to antagonize him." Lily insisted. "And Winifred typically keeps to herself or Copia and was even big enough to apologize to me yesterday for what happened in Potions Class earlier."

"Well, gee, Lily, I reckon I just found my new best mates." Cassidy grinned sarcastically. "Look, I know ye may not have a problem with them, but I'll be needing more than just yer approval if they want me teh stop expecting them teh coil and strike."

Stealing a glance toward the classroom sink, the Gryffindors saw Peter return to the table with a flustered look to him as he retook his seat.

"You alright there, Peter?" Remus studied him.

"Yeah." Peter shrugged.

"Well, what did Wilkes want?" Gwen persisted.

"Nothing particularly horrible, just a bit intrusive is all." Peter appeared very anxious. "She just wanted to corner me to ask about Sirius."

"Sirius?" Remus repeated quizzically.

"Yeah. She wanted to know what he did over winter holiday to Snape so that took a bit of fancy wording to get her to back off." Peter explained, before quickly adding. "I didn't mention anything of value to her though."

"Was that all she wanted?" Remus stared thoughtfully over at Winifred.

"She asked if Sirius was seeing anybody." Peter offered up.

"Yeah bloody right!" Gwen scoffed at the thought of Sirius, lead advocator of the Slytherin resistance movement, and Winifred Wilkes, Cousin of Severus Snape getting together under any means.

No one appeared to notice Remus and Peter exchange meaningful glances.

By three in the afternoon, the students were all excused from their various detentions and were allowed to return to their common rooms before supper was prepared. Worn and very happy to be done, both the Slytherins and Gryffindors were mostly resolved to do little of importance for a bit and simply relax.

In the Slytherin's dormitories, Aaron Lestrange and Mary Tudor disappeared somewhere to do something probably unmentionable, Regius Avery and Walden Macnair invested their dialogue in a discussion about Quidditch off in the corner of the common room. Florence Copia and Hakate Undercross were drifting off to the girls dormitories with Winifred before Snape requested her company for a bit.

Promising to meet up with the girls in a little bit, Winifred occupied one of the leather sofas in the commons while her cousin appeared content to stand.

"How was your detention with Figg?" Winifred inquired politely.

"No pleasantries, Winifred." Snape insisted. "I have something I want to ask you."

"Oh?" Winifred studied Snape with interest.

Taking a quick glance to be sure no one was listening in; Snape aired on the side of caution and leaned in closer to Winifred.

"Did you do something to Serpen Nott yesterday?" Snape asked pointblank.

"Of course I did." Winifred replied with a casual nod. "We are referring to his unfortunate accident, aren't we?

Snape was taken aback slightly by how flippantly she had just admitted to her crime. Pulling his composure back to him, Snape eyed Winifred.

"You willfully harmed Nott?" Snape wanted to be clear on the subject. "A member of your own House?"

"Oh please, the only reason Serpen Nott's in Slytherin is because he happens to have a forked tongue." Winifred tilted her head and dark hair to the side to smile at her cousin.

"Did he attempt to do something to you?" Snape inquired, trying to understand her actions.

And to determine if he needed to further complicate Nott's medical status.

"Sweet of you to ask, but no." Winifred corrected. "I just wanted to play karma personified for a bit."

"You injured Nott on account of what he did to Evans?" Snape began searching Winifred's expression for possible motivations towards such an act.

"I thought it would make you pleased." Winifred justified with a slight pout, as though he had just rejected some sort of gift.

"Why?" Snape glared as he didn't particularly like being the catalyst of Winifred's sociopathic behavior.

"Evans." Winifred stated simply with a sympathetic expression.

"If I was so inclined to get my pound of flesh from Serpen Nott, Winifred, I would have done so myself." Snape hissed at her presumptuous deduction.

"But then the blood would be on your Prefect hands, Cousin." Winifred noted. "This way you get to have your vengeance, I get to fully atone for putting Lily Evans in the position for Nott to drop her in the first place, and we both get to have our cake and eat it to."

It was cold-blooded, shrewd, and almost rational the way Winifred said it.

"And what happens when Nott awakens?" Snape caught hold of the snare in Winifred's plan.

Winifred sighed and stretched out on the leather couch.

"It doesn't really matter, Severus." Winifred assured. "Nott will just blame Potter. I doubt he would like to admit a woman got the best of him."

"Why would he accuse Potter?" Snape questioned.

"Because Potter threatened him in the library and challenged him to a duel. He mentioned it to Aaron and Mary, I happened to overhear it." Winifred reported. "I imagine he ducked out and will use this as a means to get back at Potter."

In spite of his loathing for James Potter, Snape had a far superior hatred of those who would stoop to any level of cowardice and dishonor to save their own hide. Nott was such a poor example of what some Wizards were.

"And you're comfortable with Potter taking the fall for your actions?" Snape studied his cousin for any sign of hesitation or remorse

"It's unfortunate since he didn't have the satisfaction of actually doing it." Was all Winifred would admit.

"I don't think that will happen." Snape informed as he began to sweep his way out of the common room.

"So then you'll tell them it was me?" Winifred's voice was more curious than concerned. Snape turned to look at her.

"I should. I am a Prefect." Snape reminded.

"But will you?" Winifred pressed.

Snape didn't answer her as he left for the Hospital Wing.

It had taken Snape a while to persuade Professor Heilsing to allow him to remain in the Hospital Wing to await for Serpen Nott to wake up around the time Madam Pomfrey predicted he would; however she eventually relented seeing as he was the House Prefect and under the condition he inform her of whatever Nott had to say on the matter of his attack immediately after he received it.

Preoccupied with removing large patches of hair from the arms and legs of several younger Years who had attempted to grow facial hair preemptively with disastrous results, Madam Pomfrey trusted Snape to stay with Nott without disturbing him. After only an hour's stay in the Hospital Wing, Nott stirred and opened his eyes. Drowsily he focused on Snape's face and appeared more than slightly surprised.

"Severus?" Nott croaked out. "I didn't expect to see you."

"I suppose you wouldn't." Snape agreed.

Glancing around him to gain his barring, Nott paused on his nightstand.

"Who left me flowers?" Nott raised an eyebrow to the vase neighboring his bed. "What are they?"

"Asphodel." Snape informed as he glanced at the card at the side of the bouquet. "Evidently Winifred brought them for you."

"Winifred." Nott smiled a bit. "You suppose your cousin fancies me."

"Not as much as she does irony." Snape replied, a smile twitching on his own lips. "Winifred is rather well-informed on matters of botany. If I recall properly Asphodel is the flower of the underworld and means 'My regrets follow you to the grave'. It's also a member of the lily family."

"Blood hell." Nott cringed at the innuendos around Lily Evans and his death. "Is your entire family this morbid and mocking?"

"Yes, however we are getting a bit off topic." Snape decided dryly. "I came to ask you about what happened when you fell down the stairs."

"Potter ambushed me from behind." Nott stated. "I was already on the stairs when he hexed me and the last thing I remember was tumbling down the flight."

Snape waited for Nott to finish before he crossed his arms and loomed over the bedridden boy.

"Try again." Snape urged, his black eyes narrowed.

"Pardon?" Nott questioned.

"Potter didn't attack you." Snape pointedly informed. "And I'd advice you not to insult the intelligence of myself or anyone else by attempting to persuade otherwise."

"What do you care if Potter gets blamed?" Nott demanded irritably. "Unless you two suddenly became mates while I was unconscious, I thought your pet project was getting him and his lot expelled."

"I very much doubt they'll need your colorful interpretation of events in managing that for themselves." Snape mused in a cool voice.

"Potter threatened me!" Nott hissed. "He told me that I was to duel him on the Pitch at supper or he'd come after me!"

"And you didn't show." Snape guessed.

"No." Nott admitted.

"Your cowardice would shame invertebrates, Nott." Snape observed darkly.

"Yeah, well it certainly gives Potter motive." Nott smirked.

"And you the opportunity to strike underhandedly at Potter. It would be complicated for Potter to defend himself against such an attack. I imagine this would be your only means of showing up Potter since he would utterly humiliate you in any other regard. " Snape cocked his head. "It's reminiscent of what you did to Evans, wouldn't you agree Serpen?"

Nott was growing noticeably uncomfortable by Snape's judging eyes and looming presence.

"It was meant as a joke, Severus." Nott's tone was almost pleading.

"Pity the two of us don't share the same sense of humor." Snape's lips barely moved as he spoke. "You will not incriminate Potter since I know for a fact it was Winifred."

"Winifred?" Nott appeared genuinely bewildered.

"By her own admission." Snape replied.

"That doesn't mean she did it." Nott scoffed as Snape waited for him to explain. "Okay, maybe I don't know for CERTAIN that Potter attacked me because I was walking down to the dungeons when I was hit with the Leg-Locker curse. I heard the hex and tried to turn around, but I didn't get much of a look. But the voice and glimpse I caught was DEFINITELY male."

Snape's intrusive stare burrowed into Nott to discern whether or not he was being sincere. Once satisfied, Snape found himself questioning why Winifred had lied.

"Here is what's going to happen, Nott." Snape began in a silken pitch. "When asked what happened, you will explain that you simply tripped over your own clumsy feet upon the steps. If I hear James Potter come into conversation, you can be assured that I, unlike Potter, AM entirely capable and delighted in making good on MY threats."

"But why would you – " Nott began to protest until he remembered Lily Evans and stopped his sentence. "Alright, I fell."

"And I better not hear anything to the contrary." Snape warned as he strode away from Nott's bedside.

Less concerned as to who attacked Nott as he was with how Winifred was plotting to exploit it, Snape debated his cousin's motives. Snape began to question why he had confronted Nott at all. Was it solely to ensure he didn't falsely accuse Potter given the opportunity or had he intended to keep Winifred out of trouble also. Deciding that he would have insisted on Nott's silence even if Winifred HAD been the one to assault him, Snape believed Winifred had anticipated this action on his part.

Winifred expected Snape to protect her. Did she know her cousin would find it hypocritical to have her punished for simply beating him to an act he had every intention of committing?

Was she testing him? Testing his loyalties to their blood?

Or simply to her?

Only Winifred knew the rules now and only she could see the prize. Although Snape doubted Winifred would ever attempt anything deliberate against him, he knew this would provide him little solace most likely if Winifred succeeded at whatever gambit she was employing. Uneasy at the thought of his cousin running the board several moves ahead, Snape resolved himself to play along with the girl and draw her out rather than tip her off that he was aware of something.

"So what game ARE we playing, Winifred?"

There was almost an audible sigh of relief on February 1st as the 6th Year Gryffindor and Slytherin were no longer confined to their dormitories all hours they weren't in class and had more or less earned back the points they had lost for their Houses halfway through January. Sirius was still confined to the common room in his spare time as his punishment from New Years had no foreseeable end in sight. Still, he didn't really complain. Although they would not be able to fully realize their newfound freedom until that afternoon, breakfast was a noticeably cheery affair at the Gryffindor table.

A sentiment that was not entirely shared by certain members of the Slytherin House.

"Oy, Serpen!" Macnair smirked down the bench at Nott. "Would you be a mate and pass the butter this way or do you reckon you'll fall if you attempt it?"

Avery and Undercross snorted a laugh as Nott rolled his eyes but obliged the huge Slytherin's request. It had been over a week since Nott's recovery and ever since he had returned to the House, insisting repeatedly that he had fallen down the stairs all on his own, the 6th and 7th Years from Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't miss an opportunity to take a jab at him along with a few daring underclassmen.

Nott stole a glance at Snape before he returned to his breakfast. Snape only stared at Nott before he allowed his gaze to shift to Winifred. She watched the conversation from the corner of her eye but continued chatting with Florence Copia. Snape had caught her intrigued expression on the subject of Nott more than once. It was the same stare he'd notice her directing from him when she thought he was oblivious.

Snape assumed his cousin was attempting to figure out what, exactly was going on as neither her nor Potter had been incriminated.

Winifred knew he had a part in all this, Snape was certain of that.

Since discovering Winifred had misled him, Snape had uncovered very little in ways of revealing what goal she was working for. He entertained numerous theories that were all plausible but completely ambiguous in the way of proof.

It was possible Winifred was covering for the real assailant as she rightfully anticipated that Snape would help to sweep everything under the rug for her, however that still left the question of why. Extortion? Affection?

Who knew with Winifred?

Perhaps it was nothing more impressive than a means to test Snape's loyalty to her. It was possible she was feeling neglected by him or threatened by Lily Evans. Winifred was a jealous creature whom was accustom to her cousin paying attention to her. Especially considering she was more or less ignored by a majority of their House and family as they assumed her to be too ordinary and lacking of ambition to be worth investing attention in.

Sentiments of those who truly didn't appreciate the capabilities pf Winifred Wilkes. Snape was cognitive enough to his cousin to never underestimate her. Although most of his life had shared her company, Winifred remained an enigma for her cousin to consider but Snape knew two things for certain about her:

Her blood ran cold as her passions flared hot.

A lethal combination.

The arrival of the morning post distracted Snape. The flapping of dozens of Owls echoed off the stone walls, but it was a small, out of placed bird that caught Snape's attention. Fluttering towards him, Snape noticed it was a Morning Dove and carried a letter in each of its small talons.

Dropping one of the envelopes into his hand, Snape ignored the quizzical looks of the other Slytherin as he watched the dove fly to the Gryffindor's side of the Great Hall and landed on the shoulder of Sirius Black who offered it a slice of toast in exchange for his post. Suddenly, Black was staring at him with suspicious, narrowed eyes.

Snape marveled at how completely uninventive Black was in every other facet of life yet managed to notice a small bird amidst the flock deliver a letter to each of them. This probably meant Black would be going out of his way to be an annoyingly intrusive git later.

Great.

Tucking the letter into his robes, Snape refused to open it with half of his House watching with unblinking eyes.

Particularly one from the eldest sister of Sirius Black.

It was poor luck that their first day free of confinement the Gryffindor 6th Years had exams in both Transfigurations and Charms scheduled for the next day. Lily and James had attempted to study with their friends but found everyone's tendencies to joke about or easily become distracted with their reacquired freedom to cease being as entertaining as it was frustrating. After an obnoxious hour of attempting to get everyone back on track, Lily and James decided there was little reason for them to fall behind along with the rest of the Gryffindors if they were inclined to actually study and brought their lesson books up to Lily's room for some peace.

Resisting the urge to take improper advantage of their privacy after they had just got done complaining about everyone else being irresponsible, Lily laid on her stomach across the foot of her bed with her Charms text and notes while James sat propped against her headboard with his materials from Transfiguration. They studied mostly in silence, occasionally asking or answering one another's questions, but being two of the brightest students at school there was little that could stump either James Potter or Lily Evans.

Feeling her thoughts begin to drift as she reread her notes for the third time through, Lily felt her eyes stray over to James who was completely invested in his own work.

His black bangs were draped over his eyes and spectacles, causing Lily to wonder how he managed to read at all like that. She noticed that he kept tracing his thumb in a pendulum motion along the side of the book in his lap in an evidently unconscious gesture. James's mouth twitched as his mind was evidently processing something he was reading in his book. Without taking his eyes off the page, James pulled a sheet of parchment and checked his notes against the literature.

With a weary sigh, James removed his glasses from his face and squinted at the lenses before he began to use the end of his shirt to wipe them clean. Closing his eyes briefly James, stretched out his neck and this somehow caused Lily's heart skip a beat as her chest seemed to close up in on itself.

That was when Lily became consciously aware that she was in love with James Potter.

She had only suspected and assumed such before that brief moment one listless Thursday afternoon, but now she knew for certain that she was in love with James. Lily almost felt stupid that it was something as unimpressive as cleaning his glasses that made her so confident in her feelings for James but then she decided that was just how love worked.

Not when someone was at their best.

Or when they were trying to impress those watching them.

Or when they were just being otherwise perfect

When you're with someone in a completely ordinary situation and they're doing something so entirely mundane. When you watch that specific person in the middle of some gesture that millions of people had done before them and millions would do after, like drying their hair or buttoning a shirt or reading a book. When they somehow manage to make the most unimpressive motions seem somehow so extraordinary, simply because they're the ones performing them.

That's a hint at being in love.

Now that Lily knew that she was in love with James. Now that she had this revelation about her chivalrous, brilliant, handsome, generous, and witty boyfriend who still managed to be so brutally common in spite of all his talent and prestige, Lily didn't know what to do with it.

Was she expected to just blurt it out then and there?

"I love you, James. Can I glance at your Transfiguration notes from yesterday?"

Not all that romantic is it?

Mulling over all the effort and care James invested in attempting to make the milestones of their relationship so special and memorable, Lily began to feel as though she wasn't pulling her weight as much as James. It was always him who went out of his way to pull of some grand gesture. James was always the romantic one who said the right words and did the sweet things that made her the envy of most the girls at school. The most she could claim to was reacting graciously or positively to every endeavor James performed in the name of their relationship.

That wasn't anything special.

Any girl at Hogwarts could do that.

Lily felt entirely ineffectual and obsolete at the moment.

She wouldn't last long with James if this was how she felt about things.

Committing herself to becoming the romantic one this time around and sweeping James off his feet for a change, Lily's mind worked to engineer the perfect setting for her to declare her love to James. To let James know just how predominant he was in her life and vital he was in making it worthwhile.

How completely irreplaceable James was to Lily.

"Stuck on something?" James asked, glancing up from his book. Lily smiled and blushed slight at James catching her staring at him like that.

"Um, no." Lily shook her head. "Just letting my mind wander a bit, I guess."

James shut his book, smiling also.

"We could probably risk a break, don't you think?" James suggested. Lily nodded and closed her own book. Pulling herself over to James's end of the bed, Lily let James put his arm around her as she leaned into him. He began nuzzling against her hair affectionately and she sighed.

"This is nice." Lily murmured, enjoying being held by James.

"You know, I reckon we're so fabulously brilliant that we could take a long rest from our studies and it wouldn't have the least bit affect on our work." James whispered in her ear.

Lily could hear the smile in his voice.

"And what did you have in mind?" Lily coyly played along.

"Well," James turned to face Lily straight on. "The first thing that came to mind was kissing you a bit but that came off as such an ideal plan that I didn't bother to think of anything else."

"I suppose we'll just have to run with that." Lily grinned as she closed her eyes and met James with a kiss. She felt James begin to slouch onto the top of her bed more and allowed him to pull her down with him. Leaning in slightly so he was over her, James kept his hand behind her head and his mouth gently enveloping her own. Her hand sought his as she felt their fingers intertwine. James began to grip her tighter as though he feared she would somehow be pulled away. He allowed a broken sigh to slip past her lips.

Before she allowed the bliss of this moment with James and the acute sensations her being in love with him brought with it seize her, Lily recognized one thing.

In romantic gestures of the heart, James Potter was a tough act to follow.


	24. Three Small Words

Three Small Words

By: Oy! Angelina

On the first weekend of February, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were scheduled to play a match of Quidditch on the Hogwarts Pitch. Although a misting rain, chilled air, and rolling fog showed that the dreary weather was still favoring Winter over Spring, the stands were packed and the spectators were undaunted in anticipation of the event.

Fresh off their suspensions, Cassidy and James spent the few days prior to the match-up drilling and were relieved to discover that there edge hadn't dulled in the slightest. A decent team without resorting to the underhanded ploys of the Slytherin House, James coached his team on how a fair game didn't mean it would be an easy one and demanded top form of all the players.

Though his presence at the match had originally been questionable on account of his indefinite punishment, Sirius found himself sitting in a box next to Professor McGonagall watching the game along with the rest of Hogwarts. The Head of Gryffindor had claimed that she brought him along to be certain he couldn't take advantage of an empty school and lack of faculty supervision, however, Sirius suspected that she just didn't have the heart to make him miss out on watching their House play Quidditch.

The rest of Gryffindor cheered on their team enthusiastically, waving streamers with their House colors and they proudly displayed their red and gold scarves over the front of their robes. Peter scrawled illuminated print to flash GO JAMES/GO CASSIDY in support of their fellow 6th Year players.

Lily found herself far more enthralled with the sport than normal now that she was steadily seeing their Team Captain and kept her eyes fixed on James for almost the entire match.

What was it about loving someone that made the things they do seem all the more impressive?

Still conjuring a proper way to tell James her feelings, Lily decided that it had to be that evening after the match otherwise she'd begin to suspect she was stalling on the subject. Assuming their House won, there would be a huge party in honor of the victory. If they happened to lose, there was still a plan to throw a proper celebration for Arabella's upcoming birthday and Lily overlooked one, which would still be an affair.

Whatever the means and however the phrasing, Lily planned to tell James she was in love with him and prove to both of them that she was as mindful and invested in their relationship as he was.

It was the least she could do.

For those of Slytherin who were inclined to show any vocal support of the match, a majority were cheering for Hufflepuff on the sheer principle of the matter. Having little desire to listen to Aaron Lestrange and Walden Macnair berate every player on the Pitch and make imaginative claims about their superior skills, Snape sat with Winifred Wilkes since Quidditch was one of the few things they had in common that refrained from being morally ambiguous.

That and Snape wanted to keep at least one of his onyx eyes on his cousin.

A week and a half after he discovered Winifred's ruse, the motive of her deception remained a mystery to Snape. Possibly Winifred was aware of his scrutiny or possibly she was just biding her time. Either way, Winifred was refusing to tip her hand on the subject.

Snape still trusted his cousin was up to something.

Presently, however, Winifred was watching the match from behind a pair of binoculars.

"The Chasers are being good enough to keep the score very close. It looks like it's going to be a simple matter of who claims the Snitch first." Winifred observed with amusement. "They seem pretty evenly opposed, wouldn't you agree, Severus?"

"I save my enthusiasm for when our House plays, Winifred." Snape informed. "Of course we rarely get past the first match since Macnair chooses to run our Quidditch team into the ground with his astounding ineptitude at being Captain."

"This sour disposition wouldn't have anything to do with the fact Walden gave Aaron Lestrange the position team Keeper over you in 4th Year, would it?" Winifred raised a curious eyebrow.

Snape scowled.

"My personal qualms with Macnair have little to do with my opinions of the team's management." Snape assured, before shooting a glare at Lestrange. "However if I had made Keeper, I certainly wouldn't have allowed Potter to inflate his ego anymore with his accustomed 100 point gains against Slytherin in a single match."

"Potter is really good, now that you mention it." Winifred followed Potter with her binoculars.

Snape rolled his eyes and wondered if Winifred ever actually bothered to listen to him or if she just feigned such for his benefit.

"You would have made a grand Keeper though, Severus." Winifred glanced at him. "Or a fair Chaser, as I recall from when you went out."

"Pity you don't select the line-ups for our Quidditch team." Snape mused, slightly flattered by his cousin's compliments.

"In addition to my being in charge of disciplinary measures?" Winifred recited their conversation from when they headed to detention with a smile.

"Yes." Snape agreed with a smirk.

"Oh look!" Winifred pointed out suddenly. "Both the Seekers are on the Snitch!"

Following the action of the match, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Seekers sped on the trail of the golden Snitch, elbowing and kicking at one another for the advantage. Caught in a stalemate of strength and speed, it appeared that neither had a chance for the Snitch without risking being debroomed by the other player.

Distracting the Seekers from their joint pursuit, a Bludger screeched past the two and made its way towards James Potter who was attempting to score on Hufflepuff with the Quaffle in hand. Completely focused on his offensive tactics and shouldering off a rival Hufflepuff Chaser, James appeared to be oblivious to the Bludger and the just barely spared a probable concussion from it by Cassidy Kinkade's interception of the black ball with her short bat.

"KINKADE volleys the Bludger up into the air and GIVES CHASE AFTER IT?" The match announcer couldn't hide the confusion in his voice from Cassidy play with the Bludger as she sent it rocketing into the air and quickly darted on its tail. The crowed watched with curious eyes as none seemed to know what to make of the Beater's actions.

"The Gryffindor Beater has managed her way ahead of the Bludger and has smacked it straight down for the Green and – AND ON TOP OF THE HUFFLEPUFF SEEKER!" The announcer hollered over the pitch as the spectators watched the Hufflepuff Seeker get debroomed and tumble across the Pitch. A mixture of cheers and groans erupted throughout the stands as the Gryffindor Seeker pulled ahead and snatched the Snitch into her gloved hand triumphantly.

"SINCLAIR CATCHES HOLD OF THE SNITCH!" The announcer called out excitedly. "GRYFFINDOR WINS WITH 270 POINTS TO HUFFLEPUFF'S 110!"

The crowd applauded as they watched the Gryffindor House team fly up and start patting Cassidy on the back for her extraordinary assist that all but won them the game.

The Gryffindors were ecstatic.

"And you made fun of MY enthusiasm!" Winifred laughed as she kept her binoculars on Cassidy Kinkade. "I've NEVER seen someone properly execute a play like that one!"

"She could have injured her own House Seeker." Snape observed disapprovingly. "It was a needless gambit on the Kinkade girl's part and she's only fortunate that her glory-seeking happened to have a bit of luck attached to it."

Winifred shrugged as she threw her hair over her shoulder and a broad smile at Snape.

"He who dares wins, Severus." Winifred informed. "Or, in this case, SHE."

Placing her binoculars into her robes, Winifred and Snape followed the rest of Slytherin out of the box as the game had come to a conclusion and few had the interest to linger in the bleachers.

"I've been meaning to ask you." Winifred began as they waited to descend the stairs. "Who sent you that post by dove the other day?"

Snape's neck snapped quickly to shoot his cousin a prickly stare.

"I fail to see how that is any of your concern." He hissed.

"Just curious." Winifred replied innocently, as though anything were innocent with Winifred.

"Well invest it in something other than my affairs." Snape instructed.

"You must really be fond of whomever it is if you're willing to hide them from me." Winifred grinned in a teasing manner, but Snape couldn't help but sense a certain amount of sincerity implied in her words.

"Behave yourself Winifred." Snape warned in a silky voice. "I tolerate no one prying in my affairs. Even family."

Winifred considered this in silence as they moved with the other members of their House to the green of the Pitch.

On the Green of the Pitch, the entire Gryffindor House was rallied on the field as they swarmed around their Quidditch Team shouting peals of praise and admiration their way. Fighting their way through the excited younger members, the 6th Years made there way in to properly congratulate James and Cassidy on a well played game.

They caught sight of Cassidy first as James and the rest of their team hoisted her over their heads and paraded her around the Pitch.

"Let me down, ye pack of gits!" Cassidy demanded, but laughed along anyway. "If my feet are off the ground there better be a bloody broom under me!"

James accommodated Cassidy's wishes by pulling her down but took to spinning her around all on his own while beaming like a fool.

"THAT WAS BRILLIANT, YOU WONDEROUS WOMAN YOU!" James declared. "You snared the Bludger that was aiming to take off my head and took out the Hufflepuff Seeker with it! I couldn't have IMAGINED a better play than the one you pulled off! If you don't go pro, Cass, I'll swear off Quidditch, I mean it! And my first daughter, 'Cassidy Potter'!"

Off to the side, Lily watched James twirling Cassidy around, the two of them laughing over it and experienced a sudden discomfort over the scene. They had a right to be happy about their victory but the way James was carrying on didn't sit right with Lily. He was so euphorically thrilled over the win that Lily began to wonder if she had ever gotten that kind of reaction out of James in the times they had shared together.

"Next you'll be asking fer my autograph, Potter!" Cassidy deflected as she smiled at James who had finally seen fit to set her down. "I wouldn't have managed it if ye hadn't of trained me up the way ye had! And let's not forget that Sinclair was the one who actually CAUGHT the little bugger and won us the match!"

"Well thank you, for remembering it was a team effort!" Sinclair teased as she patted Cassidy on the back. "Now shouldn't we be celebrating properly?"

Meeting up with Remus, Peter, and the other 6th Year Gryffindor girls, James and Cassidy endured another round of congratulations from their friends. James shook Remus's hand and threw an arm over Peter while Cassidy attempted to shake off Gwen and Arabella who had firmly locked themselves around the tall girl's frame in a hug as Millicent smiled and commended her glowingly.

Lily was about to walk over to greet James when Sirius made his belated entrance onto the field, only just being released from McGonagall's watchful eye to be with the rest of his House.

"JIMBO! FABULOUS GAME, MATE" Sirius hollered as he raced onto the Pitch.

"Don't EVER call me that again!" James insisted with a laugh as Sirius tackled him down with an overly enthusiastic fraternal embrace.

Pulling himself off the Green and out from under Sirius, James eyes darted around until he found Lily.

"And YOU!" James grabbed a hold of his girlfriend. Dipping her dramatically before throwing on a firm kiss for good measure, James earned applause and hoots from the rest of Gryffindor as he pulled Lily back up into a hug. "Whew! That was officially the perfect end to a perfect game!"

"And they'll be a Cup at the end of the next one, Cap'!" Cassidy promised with a wink as the rest of Gryffindor cheered preemptively for winning that year's Quidditch Cup.

"Sounds tempting, but I think I'll just make off with my spoils of victory here and now." James decided as he picked Lily up and threw her over his shoulder exultantly. "As for the rest of you, I'll be expecting the lot of you in the common room for a bash in five minutes and we're not stopping until McGonagall puts her foot down!"

"How about setting ME down James!" Lily insisted in a shrill laugh.

"Can't do it." James shook is head regretfully. "Carrying off beautiful women is good for my image. You understand, complex politics of a reigning Qudditch star being what they are."

Exiting the stadium, Professor McGonagall turned away from the rest of the faculty to greet her team, but quickly shifted over to a disapproving glare as she saw James carrying Lily off slung over his shoulder.

"Potter, that's not the kind of example I would expect a triumphed Quidditch Captain should be setting for his House." McGonagall informed. "Place Miss Evans down before I'm forced to revoke chivalry from Gryffindor's virtues."

James accommodated his House head with an apologetic smile to her and the rest of the faculty.

"Sorry about that. Got carried away." James grinned.

"Actually I believe that statement would belong to Lily, James." Professor Dumbledore corrected with a chuckle to show no one was upset.

"To the common room with the lot of you. Before you make more of a spectacle of our House than you already have." McGonagall ordered with a smile. "I'll be along shortly."

With no further prompting, the Gryffindors were on their way back to their dormitories.

Decorations were strewn all about the Gryffindor commons as the bulk of the House was crammed into the area; talking, laughing, but above all, just having a good time. Just as they had during at their victory celebration over Slytherin, the Quiddtich team kept most of their uniforms on to honor their win as they spoke with friends and enjoyed the refreshments. A few banners wishing Arabella and Lily happy birthdays were draped along the walls with a large cake off in the corner.

All in all, if people weren't praising the Quidditch team on their success they were expressing fond wishes to Arabella and Lily.

As Professor McGonagall entered the common room, Sirius halted his dialogue with some of the 7th Year boys to approach her unenthusiastically.

"So you'll be wanting me to shove off to my room, I'd imagine." Sirius relented as he nodded to the stairs. He hadn't really expected McGonagall to allow him to attend the Quidditch match and very much doubted the woman's generosity would see fit to allow him to hang about with his partying peers.

"Mr. Black, I very much doubt spending an evening with your Housemates will do much to hinder your rehabilitation." Professor McGonagall smiled slightly. "Considering you've been as well behaved as the rest of your Year for the past month, I don't think singling you out today is necessarily called for."

Sirius's face lit up a bit at this gesture of understanding.

"I suppose I'd be pressing my luck in seeing about getting off probation all together?" Sirius had to try.

"Go have some cake, Sirius." Was all McGonagall would say as she walked off.

"Mmm, my first pastry whilst on parole." Sirius mused as he made his way over to the refreshments.

"Sirius, you got a minute, mate?" James beckoned his friend over to him.

"Sure thing!" Obliging, Sirius propped himself against the wall.

At James's side, like always.

"Game was bloody fantastic James!" Sirius beamed again. "I could kiss McGonagall for letting me see it if I wasn't so ruddy convinced she'd add on an extra month or so of probation."

"Actually, I didn't really want you in the stands today." James admitted with a shrug.

"What?" Sirius's brow furrowed with worry as he eyed James.

"I wanted you on a broom." James smiled.

Sirius gave off a relieved sort of chuckle before turning to James.

"Wait, are you serious about this?" Sirius demanded.

"Yeah, well I mean, you'll have to go out like everyone else for the team, but I'm going to have three position's opening up for next season: both my Chasers and a Beater." James explained. "I'll probably pull Fletcher off reserve and give him the other Beater slot since the only reason he's on the bench is because it's Welsh's last year, but that leaves two others free at my side."

"Damn straight I'll go out for it!" Sirius exclaimed, patting James on the shoulder appreciatively. "You just say when, Prongs."

"Probably in a couple weeks. I need to pull a few ideas out of my hat for Ravenclaw in the spring and once I've got them down on parchment, I'll have you and the rest try out as the team practices." James promised.

"That would be great!" Sirius could barely contain his excitement, before he caught sight of their House Head. "Oh, but what if McGonagall shoots you down? I mean, I doubt playing Quidditch has some how figured its way into my rehabilitation."

"Well, you wouldn't actually be playing until our 7th Year." James hadn't thought of McGonagall disapproving. "I'll try to talk her into it if she seems sour on the idea. YOU just worry about being the best applicant on the Pitch. I don't want to be accused of nepotism or have you whining because someone was flew circles around you."

"Not bloody likely!" Sirius snorted an overconfident laugh. "Still, it's Gryffindor's night and, more importantly, Arabella and Lily's. I'm off to wish them a bit of well."

"Send Lily my way once you're through with her!" James called after Sirius as his friend began to walk off. Glancing over his shoulder, Sirius raised his eyebrows as the implications behind such an invitation.

It suddenly occurred to James what that had just sounded like.

"Don't." James warned, pointing at Sirius with a knowing smile.

Sirius threw his hands up.

"It was too easy of one for me to pick up anyway." Sirius digressed as he strolled off before bumping into Cassidy. Dressed down from most of her uniform so as not to overheat in the crowded commons, Cassidy still kept the Gryffindor team sweater and slacks. Sirius looked her dead in the eyes since Cassidy was the only girl he knew that was tall enough for it.

"Stumbling about already?" Cassidy teased Sirius. "What brings you over to my end of the party?"

"I want to dance with a Quidditch star!" Sirius urged as he took hold of one of Cassidy's hands and her waist. "Let us be foolish and free!"

Verging on reckless, Sirius began swinging Cassidy around the common room with him as the other Gryffindor dodged out of their paths, laughing.

"Black, ye best get yer hands off of me!" Cassidy warned but the immense laughing made it not so intimidating. "Ye never take to shuffling when Potter manages a brilliant play!"

"I was holding out for someone a bit butch." Sirius shrugged, quickly side-stepping a pillow tossed from James's direction but unable to avoid Cassidy smacking him upside the head. "Best not to resist, you know. More innocents will only be hurt if you struggle."

"Potter, get yer daft friend away from me!" Cassidy ordered James, still laughing.

"You say it as though I have any control over him, Cassidy!" James returned with a smile as Lily joined him near the wall.

"What was it like being close with Sirius all these years?" Lily inquired.

"Distracting." James laughed.

"Certainly has a charm with the ladies, doesn't he?" Lily observed as he flipped Cassidy over his arm without informing her of it first, causing her to start yelling at him again while laughing. Several other Gryffindor girls stood off to the side with envious expression.

"Yeah, he pretty much just rolls into whatever angle he needs to win a girl over. Not that he's necessarily dishonest about it, Sirius just happens to be there for a person as they need him. Fortunately for him, most like him just the way he is. Unfortunately for Remus, Peter, and myself, Sirius makes for a hard guy to compete with." James explained and he pulled one of his arms around Lily affectionately. "I'm just glad you were somehow immune to it all."

"While I'm just as big a fan of Sirius Black as the next person, I'm far fonder of his best friend." Lily assured, slipping one of her arms across James's back as she rested into him. "From here, it looks like Cassidy and Sirius are getting along pretty well. You don't suppose something might come of it, do you? Sirius could sure use a tough girl to keep him in line!"

"I doubt it anything will happen." James countered.

"How can you be so sure?" Lily demanded as she watched their friends waltzing about. "They seem to be having fun now."

"Yes, well, I don't know for sure, I just don't see much coming of it is all." James awkwardly responded. Lily could tell that James was reluctant to talk about the prospects of Cassidy and Sirius dating but she wasn't sure why.

"Well, has either of them mentioned to you that they're just platonically interested in one another? You just got done saying that Sirius can sweep near any girl off her feet and it's not as though he's ever had a lack of interest when it cames to attractive and interesting girls." Lily pressed.

"I think both you and I can agree that our tomboy Beater isn't like the rest of the girls at Hogwarts." James replied knowingly. "A flash of his smile won't get Sirius far with Cassidy. She's too, well, sure of herself for that."

James attempted to pull the conversation around as he gave Lily a tight squeeze.

"Sort of like you."

"Well, you just seem so confident on the subject." Lily sighed as she searched James's face for a reaction. "Do you guys have some sort of code forbidding you from going about with one another's exs?"

"Pardon?" James stared at Lily after being caught off guard.

"I just meant you used to see Cassidy and Sirius would respect that." Lily rationalized.

"No, I meant where did you hear that?" James persisted with a blank expression.

"Well, Gwen let it slip by accident and Cassidy confirmed it." Lily confessed as she watched James grow slightly agitated. "It's not that big of a deal James if you saw one another girl a year ago. It's not like the two of you are quarrelling about it of having flings on the side."

"What did Cassidy tell you about it?" James insisted; his expression was completely serious.

"Nothing really." Lily honestly answered. "She just said you two wanted to see if there was anything between you and it didn't work out. You kept is a secret so people wouldn't talk and think you were misappropriating your position as her team Captain or something to the effect."

"That's all she said?" James verified.

"To me anyway." Was the most Lily could answer for.

James was so completely flustered it was almost unsettling to Lily. She didn't mean to rile James up but she hadn't anticipated that the conversation would take such a dramatic turn. He didn't seem as though he was cross or ashamed over his relationship with Cassidy, but there was a certain protectiveness evident in his regard of it. Between his failure to ever mention it and his urgent need to know what details she was aware of, Lily could be confident in one thing

There was something James was hiding.

"I didn't mean to upset you, James, I just didn't think it was that grand a secret." Lily spoke.

"I was – I just hadn't expected it to come up is all." James's voice was soft and he appeared to be slightly lost in thought.

His expression was ambiguous and it made it unclear if he was just a bit surprised or if the memories that resurfaced with the mentioning of him and Cassidy had wounded him a bit. Lily didn't know if James was still sensitive to the topic emotionally.

Or if he had unresolved feelings for his team Beater.

"What happened between you two? I can't imagine it was terrible considering you both get along so well when you're together." Lily wondered quietly. "Is that why you think things wouldn't work out between Sirius and Cassidy, because of personal experience with her?"

James sighed as his eyes drifted around the room to anyone but Lily.

"Lily, could we please not talk about what happened with me and Cassidy?" James requested awkwardly, running his hand through his scruffy hair as proof of how uncomfortable he was with the subject. "I just don't see much good coming of talking about our respective brushes with romance like this."

"You're right. I shouldn't have pried." Lily bit her lip apologetically.

"No, don't fret about at all." James flashed her an encouraging smile, but his tense demeanor showed he wasn't quite eased off the subject. "I'm going to grab us fresh drinks and you haven't even had a slice of the cake yet. I'll be right back."

Dashing off, Lily sighed at how impressively she was mucking up declaring her affections for James. What the hell had she been thinking when she has insisted on that conversation about him and Cassidy?

Was she jealous of Cassidy a bit?

Lily tried to tell herself that was positively ridiculous, but she recalled how perturbed watching him gush all over Cassidy after her spectacular performance on the Pitch that afternoon. It raised all sorts of anxious feelings in the pit of Lily's stomach when she saw how good the two of them got along so much of the time. And the fact that they had hidden their fling, or whatever they preferred to call it, a secret from everyone for over a year made Lily question if the real reason both James and Cassidy were so tight-lipped about the affair was so no one would suspect James of playing favorites in Quidditch.

Was that the only thing the two of them were keeping quiet about or was there more that had happened?

Was there more HAPPENING?

"Well if I'm going to be this paranoid, I may as well switch over to Slytherin!" Lily thought to herself, rolling her eyes at her overactive mind. She trusted James and knew that he was completely loyal to her. People don't just make a fool out of themselves in front of the entire school to win someone over just to make a fool out of them. James was positively sincere in his relationship with her and Lily refused to believe otherwise.

Still they really didn't know all that much about each other's past relationships or their experiences with the opposite sex. Not only that but wasn't it that Divination's homework from Winter Holiday that predicted any love between Lily and James would sputter out as James lost interest in her straight-laced attitude? And he and Cassidy seemed to have a lot in common with their senses of humor, love of Quidditch, and gallant natures.

Maybe James's eye was wandering.

"Stop it!" Lily chided herself. She was being utterly self-conscious but most of all ridiculous and resolved to abandon this skepticism immediately and allow whatever past Cassidy and James shared to remain right where they had seen fit to leave it.

In the past.

Lily would be damned before she started citing her Divination's homework as having any bearing on reality.

She also needed to tell James she loved him.

Overlooking the common room from the balcony above, Gwen McGinnis sighed as she watched everyone below. She probed her cake with her fork but didn't bother with taking a bite. In spite of the celebration all around her, Gwen couldn't help but feel a bit blue.

So much so that she hadn't even taken notice of Peter's presence next to her.

"What are you doing up here on your own?" Peter questioned as he peered over the ledge with her.

"Feeling mediocre." Gwen confessed. "Nothing like being surrounded by bloody brilliant people to make you appreciate how ordinary you are."

"I can relate to that." Peter admitted.

"Oh sod off." Gwen muttered. "I'm not taking gripes from one of the most popular boys in school."

"Correction; the boy who hangs out with the most popular boys in school." Peter pointed out. "I'm a step above a mascot."

"Well aren't we a pair." Gwen marveled unenthusiastically.

"Just curious, but why don't you think you're special Gwen?" Peter inquired.

"I suppose the same reason you think you're on the outside looking in with the boys." Gwen shrugged. "I'm not sweet and understanding like Millicent or brilliant and stunning like Lily. I'm not the bold athlete Cassidy is or likeable and funny like Arabella. I'm just the odd one out."

"I think the most difficult thing for a person to see is the thing inside them that makes them stand out." Peter divulged. "I'm sure if you asked any of the girls what makes them special they probably wouldn't be able to offer up much. Folk are always so hard on themselves."

"Well you seem pretty adjusted to it all if you're as mundane as you claim to be." Gwen noted, adjusting her glasses as though she were inspecting Peter.

"Well, maybe it's because I know I'm doing the best I can and my friends never fault me for it." Peter guessed. "I mean, I'd be lying if I wish I didn't have James's brains and charisma or Sirius looks and humor or Remus's good-nature and discipline, but I guess I really wouldn't be Peter then now would I?"

Gwen considered this with a thoughtful expression before she spoke up.

"Sometimes I paint." Gwen revealed as though she were admitting to a carefully guarded secret. "I charm the paints so they give vivid hues to the colors. It's about the only thing I can do that's unique."

"You any good?" Peter asked with interest. He had no idea Gwen was inclined in the arts.

"With sceneries, people are a bit tricky for me still." Gwen smiled weakly. "I guess I just don't have the patience for all the little details that need to go in."

"Well, you'll have to show me sometime." Peter nodded as he nudged his cup against Gwen's own. "Until then, why not join me in a toast?"

Picking up her drink and raising it a bit, Gwen raised an eyebrow to Peter.

"Alright, but what are we drinking to?" Gwen demanded.

"Oh, bugger, hadn't thought that far." Peter laughed. "Um, okay, how about 'to our talented friends, their vast shadows, and to the company misery can keep'?"

"That's a funny sort of toast." Gwen observed with a smile as she tapped her glass to Peter's. "But it was very well said anyway."

"I write poems whenever Sirius isn't about to tease me on the matter." Peter sipped his own drink as he and Gwen turned back to the crowd.

"You any good?" Gwen asked politely.

"Not especially, but I'm still proud of it." Peter shrugged.

"Well there's something to be said about that." Gwen praised.

1977, January 31st

Dear Severus Snape:

Greetings and I hope you are well. I promised I would write to you once things had settled a bit for me. Evidently, it requires a month of my time to accomplish this, leading me to assume that my life is either far more stressful and active than I ever gave it credit of or I'm a horrible procrastinator with appalling time management skills.

I'm hoping it is the former since the alternative is just woefully pathetic.

I suppose I should talk myself up a bit now, hm? There's talk circulating that I might soon be promoted to the Assistant Head of my Department. A lucrative position although it is a little more deskwork and elbow rubbing than I'd prefer. My job is currently very hands on and interpersonal, which is why it attracted me in the first place. Still, who can pass up the opportunity to have things run somewhat their way if given the chance? I know Lucius would be positively thrilled if I declined as a gesture towards not complicating his vast social networking.

I should probably seriously consider this position, shouldn't I?

Sorry, could never resist poking a bit of fun at Lucius. I think it's a defect in my line, teasing those whom are unlikely to give us a satisfactory reaction. It's incredibly juvenile, I'm aware. I'd imagine this is as much a reason Sirius antagonizes you as it is an explanation for why I am chronically single. I assure you a bizarre sense of amusement if the fastest route to dying alone. I urge you to avoid it if you can.

So what's new on your end of the quill? I could ask you a series of inane questions regarding your life, but I trust you possess the discretion to mention what you find worth informing of without my prompting. In any case, don't worry about boring me. I find vicarious living through others to be far more gratifying that seeking out my own life. Certainly reduces the stress on remembering birthdays and anniversaries.

Well it would probably be a waste of ink for me to insist you play nice with my younger brother, so I'll be sure to put that comment in his letter. I imagine it will be just as futile an effort but I have to try now don't I? I'll just bid you a good afternoon (at least from when I'm writing this post) for the time being and wish you well in your studies, Potion making, and the like. Feel free to send me a post if you're so inclined.

Fondly;

Aurora Black

Psychiatrist in Healing Arts by vocation

Brother's Keeper by recreation

After careful scrutiny of her post, Severus Snape had come to believe that Aurora Black was quite possibly a bit mad.

Still, she wrote letters unlike any other he had received.

That most likely accounted for why Snape was finding it impossible to formulate a satisfactory response back.

In the three days since it had come into his possession, Snape and his perfectionist nature had been unable to compose a decent draft. Glancing to the discouraging pile of discarded parchments, Snape reminded himself to burn them before he was finished. Staring into the empty heading of his most recent attempt, the lack of words was growing increasingly frustrating. Disappointed that he could scribe articulated essays and impressive assignments while a simple letter remained entirely elusive, Snape glowered at his desk.

Snape was accustom to writing brief letters home every so often, replying to specific questions or comments of his family or requesting the occasional supplies for his potion work. He couldn't recall a casual letter demanding nothing more of him than an update of his current life from anyone before now. Aurora was demanding Snape prescribe his own one-way conversation to her; mentioning random events in his life that he assumed would somehow enrich her life, or in the very least be worth her time, by reading.

What a frustrating guessing game.

Tempted to give up all together on the letter and resolve himself not to reply, Snape emitted a sharp exhale as he knew that wasn't an option. As baffling as it was, Aurora has actually written him in spite of his utter loathing of her younger brother. Snape was far more familiar with the notion of blood feuds; rivalries centered around names and relations. She had to be aware of how unorthodox this was.

Aurora was probably amused by it, knowing her family's sense of humor.

Rereading her letter once again, hoping something would provoke his quill, Snape poured over each sentence analyzing each word. Considering he had practically memorized the post at this point it was all he could do.

He noted how dry the content of the letter happened to be. The woman could barely manage a line without some self-deprecating joke or flippant remark. Snape was beginning to wonder if Black sister had issues with inadequacy she should seriously address.

Still, at least she wasn't as obnoxiously boastful in her respectable accomplishments as Sirius Black was with his mediocre ones.

Aurora mentioned both Sirius Black and Lucius Malfoy only in passing. She was most likely being respectful of his dislike of her brother and felt little good would come of pressing the matter other than her comment about them playing nice. If the rest of her letter hadn't been so tongue-in-cheek, Snape would have taken this as a jibe at his younger age and her regard of his and Black's animosity as a petty squabble.

At least she recognized it was complicated, if nothing else.

Snape was curious as to why she didn't discuss Lucius Malfoy at greater length. Aurora was aware that he was on friendly terms with Lucius and she appeared to be more than familiar. Maybe this was too personal a subject for her to politely discuss. Lucius had alluded to such during the conference after New Years.

Then again…

The only time Aurora bothered referring to Lucius was to comment on how she enjoys agitating him. Perhaps she didn't discuss her affairs with Lucius because she was sensitive to his friendship with Malfoy and didn't wish to say anything to reproachful about his friend. Recalling her demeanor around Lucius as being aloof and formal and Lucius's own admissions of their relationship as implied more than anything, Snape wondered exactly what did transpire between the two Hogwarts alumni that had once been inseparable.

Again, Snape thought of Aurora's famed slapping of Lucius Malfoy in Transfiguration class and all the unresolved questions orbiting.

Snape guessed that Aurora Black and Lucius Malfoy, likewise, shared a complicated relationship.

Snape was willing to wager probably more so.

Like when he had first spoken to her, Aurora said little about her own private life but expected him to reveal his own. Snape assumed this was most likely habitual of her profession; asking the right questions and listening carefully without distracting the other person with your own life. It was certainly an effective means to acquire information about those around you without offering much of your own. It left little exposure of and personal vulnerabilities.

It allowed her to remain guarded against others.

Snape picked up his quill and began to scrawl its tip across the page.

"I'd very much like to know what my present is doing up here." Arabella prompted Remus as he led her up to the attic in Gryffindor tower.

"Well, I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise and if I wrapped it, you'd never forgive me I'd imagine." Remus explained vaguely as he tried the door knob.

"Lupin, I certainly hope you're not going to pass snogging off as some grand gesture for my birthday." Arabella warned with a smirk. "I don't care how good you are it in spite of that shy demeanor; I'm a terror on my birthday if I'm not spoiled with attention AND material possessions."

"Ten strides ahead of you, Pet." Remus assured as he led her into the attic.

Directing her over to the corner of the attic, Remus used Arabella over by a box in the corner. Peering into the shadows, Arabella caught glimpse of a fair amount of fidgeting within. Reaching in carefully with two hands, Remus handed Arabella a small kitten with freshly grown charcoal fur.

"She's precious!" Arabella cooed so adorningly that Remus almost felt jealous of the cat. "If it weren't for the purring, she's so little you'd think she was something another cat coughed up!"

"I almost didn't notice her when I found her out in Hogsmeade last week." Remus agreed. "I have no idea where her mum is but she can't be more than a month old."

"Poor stray baby!" Arabella frowned sympathetically. "I'd guess she'd be the runt of the litter then. I hate it when people overlook a perfectly wonderful creature simply because it's not the most outstanding or healthy in the lot!"

Remus smiled a bit as though he had just been complimented.

"Anyway, I remembered you'd only been keeping about seven cats at school and assumed you wouldn't mind another about." Remus grinned.

"Don't tell me you're going to try and work me up to a baker's dozen! The other girls will have me thrown out of the room!" Arabella laughed. "Cassidy's hates how the rest insist on sleeping on her bed, Gwen keeps finding hair balls in unusual places, and Millicent shrieks each time one of my babies leaves her a dead mouse as a gesture of affection."

"Well, I don't imagine this one will be giving them much trouble." Remus ran a finger over the kitten's head. "She barely has the energy to keep her eyes open let alone annoy your roommates."

"I'll just have to train her up. I think I'll name her Bast." Arabella promised before smiling at Remus and kissing him. "This was a brilliant gift Remus."

"I thought you'd like it." Remus murmured modestly as he places a hand to her cheek and pressed his lips against hers in a deeper embrace. After a few seconds of indulgence Arabella pulled away and wagged her finger in a chiding fashion.

"Not in front of the impressionable kitten, you randy boy." Arabella teased.

"Fair enough." Remus relented. "I'm just glad you love her."

"Bast's not the only thing I love." Arabella whispered as her eyes drifted up to meet Remus's.

The silence was almost startling. Remus felt his lips part to reply, but no words came and he wasn't sure what he had intended to say anyway. The implications of Arabella's sentence wasn't lost on Remus. He knew what she intended to say.

Arabella opened her mouth to say something more but Remus silenced her with a kiss that she didn't protest. It was passionate, anxious, and a direct response to all the knots he felt being tied up inside of him that moment. The traditionally placid Remus had never been more rattled in all his life than he was in that instant.

And considering the sheer volume of tumultuous happenings in it usually, that was saying something.

Pulling his face away from Arabella's, Remus places the tips of his fingers over her lips to keep them from speaking.

"Just hang onto that thought a bit longer, Pet." Remus pleaded softly.

Removing his hand, Remus watched Arabella's response and saw the disappointment emerge. Still, she didn't challenge his request. Placing Bast back in her box, Arabella picked up the entire crate and cradled it in her arms.

"I should put her in my room. My other cats will look after her." Arabella announced softly. "Well, Tuesday is a bit of a bully, but Mitten and Faraday should be kind."

"Okay." Was all Remus could think to say.

"I have to ask." Arabella sighed, turning to Remus exuding all the things anyone could recognize as self-conscious and awkward. "Is it me? Something I've done or haven't done?"

"No and don't you DARE assume otherwise." Remus said sternly and completely sincere. "This is entirely my problem."

"The only problem here, Remus, is you fail to realize that I'm willing to make your problems my own." Arabella shook her head.

"I know." Remus nodded. He knew she meant it, but still something inside of him held back.

"Well, I'm of the disposition to eat a kilogram of cake." Arabella confessed with a sigh.

"You want me to leave you in peace?" Remus offered.

"No, you sodding prat!" Arabella pouted. "I can't guilt trip you if you're off sulking somewhere on your own."

Remus cracked a smile in spite of his complicated mood. Arabella joined him with one of her own.

"So you said you found her a week ago in Hogsmeade?" Arabella inquired.

"Yes." Remus confirmed.

"Two questions then." Arabella spoke with a raised eyebrow. "What were you doing in Hogsmeade and, most importantly, what were you doing without a gift for me a week before my birthday?"

"I'd rather not say since this conversation could become rather incriminating of me very shortly." Remus nervously chuckled.

She was relieved to see him laughing, even if it was only a bit. Remus always passed himself off as so introspective and silent-suffering. Maybe it was too much for her to demand such a reclusive personality to attach itself to her, but Arabella had to at least attempt it. It wasn't Remus's fault if he didn't love her back and she had knew the risks of falling for someone reserved like Remus Lupin some time ago. Arabella was also willing to wager that whatever reluctance Remus was harboring probably had something to do with the New Years, his quarrel with Sirius, and the breadcrumb trail Severus Snape was laying out.

Perhaps if she managed her way to the end, things would be different for her and Remus.

In the meantime, she was just content to get a giggle out of him now and again.

Lily put all her energy into enjoying the party considering a third of it was in her honor, but she found it to be somewhat taxing since she her inquisition of James. Although she was careful not to even bring up Cassidy again, James still seemed distant and uneasy around her. When it appeared to become too awkward for him, James would make some plausible excuse to abandon her for someone else in Gryffindor.

It was so obvious that Sirius took notice.

"What's James doing leaving you alone?" Sirius demanded as he sat himself on a section of floor near Lily's feet. It was about the only free place available to sit. "Doesn't he know there are randy blokes about hoping to catch a peek up your skirt?"

"I'm not wearing a skirt." Lily smirked, gesturing to her slacks for emphasis.

"Right pity, that." Sirius offered up a suggestive grin. "Still, James has been keeping himself busy tonight."

"Yeah, I think I might have said something to make him cross with me." Lily admitted glumly.

"Doubtful." Sirius shook his head. "The boy's entirely smitten with you. You could probably set his hair on fire all the while pointing and laughing and he'd still be head over heels. That and the fact of his outstanding pratness while courting you certainly doesn't give him much of a leg to stand on."

"So I shouldn't worry?" Lily eyed James's best friend and possibly the only living person who was most versed on all things James Potter.

"Worry about meteors striking you in the head or carrier Owls suddenly developing a taste for human flesh, but never worry about James being anything but thoroughly captivated by you." Sirius advised.

Lily wanted to thank Sirius for making her feel a whole lot better about her current standing with James, but instead she asked.

"Flesh eating Owls?"

Sirius's expression became suddenly perturbed.

"Yeah, worst sodding nightmare I ever had in my bloody life!" Sirius muttered. "I was about five or so when I had it and it bothered me so much that when Aurora, my eldest sis, went to get an Owl of her own, she picked out this Morning Dove instead to help me over my fear. Hard to be scared of a bird who hasn't got enough meat on him to be a Cornish hen. I still get a bit of the wiggins every time a flock of Owls fly overhead."

"That was considerate of her." Lily smiled approvingly.

"Well, you can tell her that in person over spring holiday." Sirius assured as he stood up. "Helios, her Dove, sent me a post mentioning that my parents are still throwing me a bash for my Birthday over Spring Holiday in spite of my questionable behavior."

"James mentioned something about it." Lily nodded.

"Yeah, I'm spreading word about to all the kids in our Year to show up for the event, save for the Slytherin naturally." Sirius rolled his eyes at the thought of their presence before reverting to his usual grin. "My Mum said I could make a weekend of it with the other Gryffindors staying at my house. Merlin knows we have enough rooms for it."

"Sounds fabulous." Lily tried to imagine what a weekend over at Sirius's house while he was celebrating his birthday would be like, but found she was probably too grounded to even fathom such a thing.

"What's fabulous?" James interjected as he strolled over to Sirius and Lily.

"Oh just telling Lily the sleeping arrangements for my birthday." Sirius explained, before turning to Lily. "Now, like I said, you'll be sleeping on the LEFT side of the bed because I'm just no good if I don't' get up on the right."

Sirius glanced over to James to check his audience's reaction.

"Funny, Mate." James replied with a tone that suggested he didn't quite see the humor. Still, it didn't appear as though James was taking his friend's advances all that seriously. "I think you should know flirting with the Quidditch Captain's girlfriend doesn't help your chances of making the team."

"Good to know!" Sirius laughed before patting James on the shoulder. "Alright well then I'll leave you two be then."

Sirius started walking off before he abruptly turned to Lily with an expression that was so solemn it was almost concerning that he could shift moods that fast.

"One question Lily." Sirius requested. "Did Snape mention anything about receiving an odd post or something to you?"

"Um, no." Lily wasn't sure what Sirius was talking about. "We don't speak all that much outside of Prefect meetings."

"Probably my fault." James shrugged not looking all that put out over the thought. He stole a suspicious glance at Sirius. "You're not pranking him are you?"

"No." Sirius sounded honest but looked entirely distracted. "I was just wondering about something."

Without another word, Sirius rejoined the party leaving James and Lily to exchanged bewildered glances.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Lily questioned.

"Who knows with Sirius?" James didn't even attempt a guess. He smiled at Lily while sweeping the bangs from his eyes. "Um, would you mind if we went to your room a bit? I want talk to you and it's a little too noisy to do that properly here."

"That's fine, so long as Professor McGonagall doesn't catch us." Lily agreed conditionally.

"I think she's clearing off." James craned his neck in an effort to locate his House Head. "Still, you go on up first and I'll follow along in a minute."

"Okay." Lily consented as she made her way up the dormitory stairs alone.

Feeling herself growing anxious, Lily wondered what it was James wanted to talk about as she entered her room and began summoning light into it. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't anything to be overtly concerned about since Sirius had made a pretty convincing testimony on James's behalf and it's not like James himself had been hostile to her that evening either.

Maybe he wanted to clear the air on him and Cassidy, taking the conversation into a more private setting so as not to attract any unwanted attention to what they were discussing. It would make sense since that's the only thing Lily could recall to recent memory that would necessitate a secluded talk. Whatever it was about, Lily decided she would allow James to speak whatever was on his mind, make sure they were on good terms, and tell him that she loved him.

Otherwise, Lily was liable to declare it in an explosive announcement to all of the Gryffindor Commons in a desperate fit to get it off her chest.

Lily jumped a bit as she heard the door shut behind her. James stepped into the middle of the room and exhaled in audible relief.

"I don't reckon McGonagall saw me come up here and if anyone else did, they'll have the sense to keep their mouths shut I'm sure." James informed as he approached Lily. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

Lily nodded as she sat herself on the edge of her bed, James joining her at his side. Taking one of her hands into both of his, James smiled awkwardly. Lily felt as though something inside her was fluttering about like a butterfly trapped in a jar, desperate to escape.

"I'd like to apologize for being a git half the night to you." James began, as his eyes uneasily drifted from the top of her hand to searching the expression on her face. "I don't really have an excuse, but I have a reason."

"James, really you don't need to – " Lily insisted in an understanding tone until James cut her off.

"Lily, please just allow me to unburden myself here for a moment then you can say whatever you want." James pleaded gently as he kissed the top of her hand to prompt her silence.

"Alright." Lily agreed.

"As I was saying, I was acting a bit off today because I've been grappling with this restless feeling for a while now." James confessed, urging himself to not start raking his fingers through his hair.

Lily waited, feeling as though the breath had been stolen from her.

A restless feeling?

"Being around you can be such an overwhelming thing for me, Lily." James attempted to explain. "I want to just say and do the first things that pop into my head whether or not they're appropriate and if I was acting bizarre it's because I was trying so hard to restrain myself from doing something rash with something I sincerely feel."

James lifted his wand hand to Lily's cheek and traced circles over the flesh with his slightly clenched fingers.

"I love you." James whispered so quietly Lily almost didn't hear him.

Lily's mouth dropped slightly.

James had beaten her too it again.

Every first in their relationship was initiated by James. Organized by James. Executed perfectly by James. Once again, Lily felt as though she wasn't in a partnership with James. Their relationship was comprised of James making everything work while she just smiled and reacted as he figured she would.

Lily loathed herself for being so indecisive and hesitant.

"I know I said that to you back in October and I haven't said it since. That's not because I somehow stopped loving you between here and there, I just had to be sure. I wanted to know that the next time I said it, I wouldn't have to think about it and would never take it back." James felt Lily's silence weigh on him, provoking him to press on self-consciously. "And I wanted it to be here because that first night back to school, the one I spent underneath my cloak, that was when I first started to fall in love with you so I thought I'd bring things full circle."

James squeezed Lily's hand once with his own before placing it on her shoulder and leaning in closer to her.

"And it's alright if you're not sure how you feel about me yet so you don't have to feel compelled to say anything back to me." James assured. Swallowing hard, James attempted to keep his voice even as his mouth drew closer to Lily's. "All you need to do is know that I love you. With that being said, I'm going to kiss you now as I fear I'll just keep prattling on otherwise."

"I love you, James." Lily whispered back.

James's mouth was so close to her own that Lily's lips brushed across James's as she formed the words. James lingered for a moment in the position, closing his eyes as thought to process the words she had just said. Without another word, Lily tilted her head and embraced James's mouth with hers in a deep and heartfelt kiss that he accepted.

Drawing her closer, James held her as though he expected her to abruptly leave him. The motions of Lily's mouth were passionate, desperate to show James what she felt in her heart through physical gestures and he met her with the same intensity she showed him.

The disappointment of not declaring her love first to James flickered ad died like a candle in the wind for Lily as she broke her mouth away from James long enough to say:

"It doesn't matter which of us says it first or where we utter the words, so long as you and I are both sincere when we say I love you, everything else is just pretty scenery and moot points."

"I love you." James repeated without fear the words would lose their meaning. "And it's entirely Deperire."

Before Lily could ask what the word meant, James's mouth took hers again and made the question lost in countless sighs and soft moans as they continued to kiss.

She would just have to ask James some other time.

1977, February 4th

To Dr. Aurora Black:

I must admit a certain measure of surprise in receiving your post. My family's past interactions with yours did little to encourage any notion that you would freely seek contact with me. I would question your motives but sincerely doubt you'd bother yourself with a straightforward answer. However, if you are writing to entertain some lingering feelings of obligation or guilt because of your brother's behavior during New Years, I recommend you don't burden yourself or I with your pity.

In response to your post, I'll have to recommend that you live vicariously through someone other than myself. I typically strive to keep my life as uneventful as I can manage and when I find it deviating from its preferred seclusion I do what I must to keep my business from becoming that of others. Presently, I keep myself occupied with my responsibilities as a student and Prefect and amused with my work in potions. Anything beyond such is either inconsequential or preferably kept private.

I suppose congratulations are in order for your success in your department at the Ministry, although I shall save any formal praise if and when you actually obtain the position as Assistant Head of Magical Catastrophes. As I have nothing positive to say on the topic, I will refrain from discussing your brother as a courtesy to you.

Considering your elusive manner of discussing yourself while thoroughly probing others, I fear I cannot trust your discretion in what is of value to know concerning your life. Perhaps I've spent too much time in Slytherin; regardless I feel as though you have me at a disadvantage concerning how much knowledge you possess of me in contrast to what I know about you. As such, I'll simply ask you specific questions and would prefer you to be as forthright with your responses as required.

Why have you taken it upon yourself to be your Brother's Keeper? While I can understand how someone like Sirius Black would require constant supervision I fail to see why you feel either compelled or obligated to be the one to provide him with it.

How would you define your relationship with Lucius Malfoy? I traditionally refrain from prying in the affairs of others; however, Malfoy is a close confidant of my family and I would very much like to avoid any misunderstandings or presumptuous interpretations of yourself and Malfoy if it can at all be helped.

Lastly, have you no one of your own age to keep correspondence with? Not that I particularly mind receiving the occasional post from you, I am merely curious as to what circumstances in your life has compelled you to find a seventeen year old wizard a gratifying source of conversation.

As I draw this letter to a close, I shall wish you good health and fortune in obtaining your perspective promotion.

Sincere regards,

S. Snape.

Considering this to be the most satisfactory draft he had composed, Snape made his way to the Owlry to have it sent out. It revealed little about himself, about his thoughts, his feelings, or his personal regards about anything or anyone.

With the exception of Snape's much founded suspicions toward Dr. Black's intentions.

It was a possibility that Aurora had no ulterior motive in contacting him other than to inquire how he was getting along. Perhaps that was just the kind of person she was, someone who made a point to remember and check in on those who have passed through her lives.

Then again, perhaps not.

Any reluctance to answer his questions would serve as more than enough proof for Snape that this was psychoanalyzing under the guise of casual correspondence. They had terminated their relationship as Doctor and patient one month ago and Snape saw little appeal in going back to it. It was possible Dumbledore had asked her to do a follow up but Snape had already been blindsided once by his Headmaster and the good Doctor and he refused to be caught off-guard again.

If Aurora Black was looking for civil conversation, that was one thing; but if she wanted to throw one more case on her workload she could do so elsewhere.

"I wonder what her reply will be." Snape thought as he sent off the carrier owl.

After an uncertain period of time consumed in one another's affections and embrace, James left a moderately exhausted Lily to catch a bit of sleep. Enveloped in the lingering euphoria of telling Lily his feelings for her while demonstrating them in a manner that toed the line of gentlemanly behavior, James had no intention of going to bed that moment. Swaggering into the common room, James found it was deserted save for Remus who was dispelling decorations and debris with his wand.

"Everyone leave you to clean up the mess?" James inquired as he pulled out his own wand to assist his friend.

"Well, I imagine our Prefect would have helped if I didn't suspect she became suddenly indisposed." Remus smiled knowingly at James. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you Prongs?"

"Not a thing." James lied unconvincingly while he smirked. "So why didn't Arabella help you?"

"She's feeding the kitten I got her for her birthday." Remus explained. "Besides she shouldn't have to clean up after her own party."

"Oh, but it's okay for Lily too?" James demanded with a laugh as he waved away a cluster of streamers.

"You know I wouldn't have let her." Remus stretched a bit.

"Yeah, you're decent like that." James nodded. "I told Lily I loved her."

"And the déjà vu firmly sets in." Remus teased, recalling the last time James confessed his love to Lily. "I'm truly happy for you, James. Wait, did she say it back?"

"Yes." James assured.

"That's grand for the both of you then." Remus replied, slightly relieved that he didn't have to improvise a speech on how complicated and mysterious woman are for his friend's benefit.

"How about you and Arabella?" James turned the conversation over to his friend. "Are you two spinning in the daisies, sun on your faces, head over heels in love yet?"

Remus chuckled a little to the forthright nature of the question and hope it would mask his uneasy expression.

"I – " Remus struggled for something to help rationalize his complex emotions about his relationship with Arabella and how strangled it was by the life he knew before it. "I think we're still sorting it all out for ourselves."

That was a lie.

A lie to James, no less.

Arabella knew what she felt.

He was the only one amongst them sorting.

"Well it's not like there's a deadline on it, Remus." James extended a bit of comfort with a sincere smile. "Plus, you're the only one around here with more than his fair share of decency and sense. Arabella will see that soon and once you know for sure yourself, well, I imagine you can't muck this sort of thing up to the spectacular level Sirius, Peter, and myself are capable of."

If James only knew.

"Thanks James. You always know what to say. I'll finish up here." Remus offered, wanting desperately to be alone. "Just be a mate and make sure that Sirius isn't snogging some girl in my bed like he so thoughtfully promised to earlier."

"Good to see you two are getting along famously again." James quipped with a grin as he headed towards the stairs.

"Makes one almost wistful for when I hated the git." Remus joked as he waved James off.

Sighing, Remus resisted the urge to pull out his gray dusted hair in clumps.

James was right.

This breed of anxiety and indecision was beneath him.

Settling onto the couch, Remus hugged his arms to him as he skipped over disappointment and went straight for his carefully hidden depression.

If he had been honest with his good friend, Remus would have told James that he did, in fact, love Arabella Figg and has for sometime around the first Quidditch celebration party last October. Deciding that if he could still be fond of the girl after seeing her in her most disheveled and vulnerable state as Arabella was after consuming Peter and Sirius's Potions experiment, Remus figured he was pretty much in love with her.

Actually being with her as more than a friend only confirmed this assumption.

Remus thought being in love with Arabella and having her love him as well would make him happy. Instead, he found himself completely fearful and insecure.

Having a lifetime to slowly harden himself to the likeliness of spending his days without the sort of intimacy so many others had the luxury of seizing, Remus had always been so careful to keep just out of reach for the rest of the world. It was all Remus could do being what he was come every full moon.

He feared the pain that always came when he was shunned, rejected, and insulted by the ignorant and scared.

The only thing he feared worse was the pain he could unconsciously inflict on those who accepted, cared for, and stood by him out of love and loyalty.

It was one thing for his family to know what he was.

And he had come to terms with James, Peter, and Sirius finding out.

Arabella was different.

His family had loved him before he was bitten and if he had been rejected by James and the others, Remus wagered he wouldn't be that much worse off than he had been before attending Hogwarts.

Arabella was different

Remus couldn't tell Arabella he loved her or hear her tell him that she loved him without her knowing that he was a Werewolf. And Remus couldn't tell Arabella that he was a Werewolf without risking her rejecting him.

Her fearing him.

Her hating him.

Remus almost found this desirable to the alternative. The alternative meant a potential lifetime of worrying that he might harm her or worse. New Years had rattled Remus to a near maddening state. The idea that he could have slaughtered half his friends without a second, feral thought haunted him with dreams he couldn't speak of and still pretend to be perfectly fine in spite of. Remus wasn't adjusting as he had expected. Things were best when he portended how fine he was with everything and it was hard to make-believe when people keep shoving the reality of things in your face.

Briefly but seriously considering breaking things off clean with Arabella before they became more invested in one another, Remus thought it would be better to part ways so she could find someone to make her happy and he could not burden anyone. He refused to do that to her as long as he stood a chance of being the one to give Arabella that kind of happiness. It was just the "how" that was presently getting to him.

Falling in love with Arabella had caused Remus to stumble further than he could have ever anticipated.

It wasn't the fall he particularly dreaded.

It was what would happen once everything met a sharp and sudden impact.

Bast the Egyptian Goddess of Cats


	25. Bittersweet Selene

Bittersweet Selene

By: Oy! Angelina

The melody of gentle string music playing lulled Lily awake on Valentine's Day morning.

Lifting her head from her pillow, she groggily scanned the room for the origin of the music. Her green eyes squinted against a softly illuminated source of light near her headboard. Unable to focus in on where the light was coming from, Lily abandoned her bed and noticed a hand harp floating near her side.

A smile crept on Lily's face as she recognized James's handiwork.

Turning toward her vanity to brush out her auburn hair, Lily spotted a shimmering halo crowning her head. Chuckling at James's romanticized image of her, Lily gathered her uniform and bath supplies to get herself freshened up for the day. Scattered rose petals of red, pink, and white across the floor caught Lily's eye as placed her hands to her waist with a quizzical expression.

"Now don't tell me he snuck in here and threw petals about!" Lily asked no one in particular.

Taking a tentative step, Lily was taken by slight surprise when a spray of fresh petals materialized to carpet the ground she walked on by way of enchantment. A few more steps revealed that this occurred with each new step.

"So he'd have me walk on rose petals, would he?" Lily marveled with a chuckle, completely flattered by the sentiment.

Gathering up her things, Lily strode towards the girls' bathrooms feeling completely enraptured by the romantic gestures of her loving boyfriend.

Forty-Five Minutes Later

Meeting in the common room to head off to breakfast as a group, James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Arabella waited for Lily to join them. The echoing song of a harp vibrated against the stone of the stairwell earned more than one quizzical exchange of looks from the five 6th Years and anyone else passing through the commons.

James simply smiled to himself as he leaned against the couch Sirius and Peter were seated on.

Emerging from the stairs in a shower of petals with a harp and halo bobbing along with her, everyone gawked at Lily with a few expressions that were envious or amused. Most were just surprised. Lily didn't seem to acknowledge the rest of the Gryffindors present as her eyes immediately fixed on James.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Lily." James greeted brightly, looking a little too impressed with himself.

"Don't you 'Happy Valentine's Day, Lily' me you little prank monkey." Lily crossed her arms in evident agitation. "All of this – this magical hullabaloo, how do you dispel it? Nothing I've tried has worked at all."

"What's wrong with them?" James demanded defensively, but still appeared more than entertained.

"Well the words 'gaudy' and 'irritating' pop into my head." Remus observed casually.

"Did I ask the peanut gallery?" James questioned with a smirk before returning to Lily. "Well, what's the problem?"

"They follow me everywhere I go!" Lily reported in a huff. "Even into the bath! I clogged the drain twice with rose petals in the shower and the harp made the most awful noise when wet!"

Sirius and Peter had long since collapsed into fits of laughter at this point and were attempting to smother out the noise by turning their faces into cushions. Arabella chuckled as Remus could only shake his head in sympathy for Lily's plight.

James was biting his lip desperately to keep from joining Sirius and Peter.

"Well go on then!" Lily urged impatiently. "You cast them on me James, now get rid of them."

"I forgot how." James attempted to shrug casually but his grin betrayed him.

"You forg – " Lily's expression puckered into a sour one. "Well then I STRONGLY suggest you attempt to remember before you find yourself suddenly single."

Striding past her friends in a spray of petals with her haloed head held high, the rhapsody of her harp announced her departure.

All the eyes in the room turned to James who gave up on containing his laughter.

"Pranking your own girlfriend? That's simply low James." Arabella chided with a smile.

"Oh it's all done with affection!" James protested.

"Well I thought it was brilliant!" Sirius defended his friend. "And it was informative. I, for one, always wondered what a thoroughly pissed angel would come off looking like"

James, Peter, and Sirius all returned to laughing again as Remus took it upon himself to be the voice of reason.

"The point of it is, James, as funny as it might be, Valentine's isn't about annoying the people you love." Remus noted.

"Yeah, it's about mountains of sweets and desperate bids at finding love under the command of the almighty calendar." Peter nodded along with Remus.

"Precisely." Remus rolled his eyes to the jaded regard.

"Oh don't come down on me like that." James insisted. "I would dispel it for her if I didn't think she was loving every moment of it."

"Well, if you suspect otherwise, I'd recommend taking it off." Arabella offered up helpfully. "I don't want to spend my Valentine's smoothing over Lily's foul mood because you had to be a prat."

"Not an issue." James assured as he started toward the portrait exit of the dormitories. "Now let's hurry along so I can see the Great Hall's reaction to Lily!"

Valentine's Day almost always had a cruel subtext in Slytherin

It was always an open invitation to toy with the emotions of others, whether it was misplaced affections towards a member of the House or the sadistic humor of pretending to care for someone only to humiliate them later on. Valentine's Day was possibly the biggest joke inside of the Slytherin.

And the other Prefects and Head students had questioned Severus Snape's lack of enthusiasm over the holiday.

Severus couldn't recall which of his brilliant counterparts had come up with the idea to have hundreds of white doves flying about at breakfast on Valentine's day, delivering posts from supposed lovers and admires, but they wear all eager enough to support it.

All save for Severus.

Severus had voiced his protests for making a grand spectacle out of a simple morning meal to which Lily Evans performed a heartfelt end entirely naïve sentiment about how it was an opportunity for people to let their feelings be known without it being so intimidating. Tired of talking to himself and the doe-eyed masses, Severus was consent to sit back and wonder how his House would shoot the other student representative's good intentions to Hell.

Odd harp playing from the Gryffindor end of the Hall drew Severus's attention as he entered the vast room. He might have questioned the function of the halo and instrument hovering about her or the trail of rose petals leading to Lily Evans if Severus wasn't almost entirely assured that Lily was a victim of Potter's adoration. Choosing to head directly to his table, Severus decided he'd refrain from talking to Lily until the enchantments were dispelled since he suspected he'd be unable to restrain himself from commenting on her festive look for the holiday.

Still, she impressed him by being able to hold her head up high and pretend that the entire room wasn't staring and snickering at her.

Severus claimed a seat just as the flocks of doves made their entrance into the room with decorated posts clutched in their talons. Helios was amongst them, leaving a letter from Aurora Black with before fluttering off. It was unlikely anyone would notice him amidst the chaos of the mass deliveries and Helios's uniformic appearance with the rest of the doves.

Having anticipating Aurora's reply for over a week, Severus refrained from reading it at the table since he didn't care for the other members of his House to misinterpret the implications of the letter in hand.

Couldn't the woman have sent it out the day before or after?

Severus was almost startled as a half dozen other doves swooped down to drop a post next to him. Suspiciously glaring at the envelops, Severus could only assume that some students at Hogwarts thought they could have a little sport with him without incurring horrifically scaring damage as a consequence. He swiftly pulled the letters into his robes and was relieved to find his Housemates were too preoccupied with their own deliveries to notice his.

Aaron Lestrange and Mary Tudor exchanged the posts they had received for the other to read. This was a tradition between the Slytherin couple whenever someone sent written confessions of affection to either. Mary would screen Aaron's posts and deal with his suitors and he would do the same. Although they lacked anything resembling a conventional relationship, Tudor and Lestrange were protective and faithful to one another.

Unless they had permission to be otherwise on occasion.

Severus didn't understand how an "open relationship" was capable of working for possessive and obsessive creatures like Aaron and Mary but it wasn't his place to criticize since this was their fourth Valentine's day as a couple.

Still, he doubted he's meticulous and controlling lifestyle would function well in a partnership under such a non-committal pretense.

Severus liked his affairs in order.

Ergo; he hated anonymous posts.

His attention was jarred to Mary as she stared citing some of Aaron's posts.

"Oh, you're girlfriend here advices you to 'ditch that homicidal cow with the horse-like overbite' in favor of her." Mary reported to her boyfriend with an unturned lip. "She'll be forced to look at a horse-like overbite in the mirror for the rest of her days once I'm through with her."

"Apparently I have 'inadequacy issues that I seek to compensate through my wand'." Aaron glowered hotly at the parchment in his own hand.

"Who wrote that?" Tudor demanded; half offended that someone insulted her lover like that and half impressed they had the nerve to do so.

"Black, the sodding git he is." Lestrange spoke through his teeth while glaring at the Gryffindors. "It's less of a Valentine as it is a comment on our entire relationship."

Tudor pulled the parchment from Lestrange's hand as she scanned the print, her expression darkening more with each sentence.

". . . In conclusion, on behalf of Hogwarts, I would like to thank you for proving that the insane and morally degenerate still have a hope of finding love with anatomically incorrect puppets that they can work their fingers into. However, since I am a fan of the more traditional notion of romance (i.e. not perverse and/or emotionally-deadening) I shall look to Lily Evans and James Potter as a positive counterpoint to your walking cautionary tale."

Mary seethed the words as she read them. Her knuckles went white as she gripped the letter, threatening to shred through it.

"I'll. Kill. Him." Mary vowed in a hiss.

Lestrange stole a glance at Severus, before putting a comforting arm around her shoulder and nuzzling against her ear.

"Don't let him rattle you, darling." Aaron soothed in a cool, hollow voice that suggested his mind was far off working on something else. "You'd be playing on his terms and that's just what he wants. We'll show up Black and make him very sorry he decided to be so comparative."

"Of course." Mary pulled her poise back to her as she crumpled the letter up.

Severus knew whatever retribution Mary and Aaron had in mind would be brutal and devastating. But since it was falling on Black's head, Severus really didn't care in the least to prevent it.

Turning to Winifred, he saw she was inspecting her own holiday posts with an amused expression.

"Please tell me you don't have some malicious repercussions for those who have confessed their feelings to you." Severus eyed his cousin for her reaction.

He'd hope she wouldn't be taking the same route as the bulk of their House. Winifred threw up a childish pout as she folded her letters into her robes.

"Not at all." Winifred insisted. "The worst I intended to do is ignore the ones I don't fancy until they lose interest or press the issue."

"And if that occurs?" Severus raised his eyebrow.

"Well, I always hate looking at the expression of someone after a polite rejection." Winifred frowned, before raising her long finger to gesture for Severus's attention. "Observe."

Leaning across the table slightly, Winifred peered down the length towards the other members of their Year.

"Serpen?" Winifred called for Nott's attention, who turned away from his conversation with Regius Avery and Walden Macnair to acknowledge her. "I'm sorry, but I simply don't share your feelings. The Asphodel was sent to you out of pity for your condition and meant nothing deeper. It's nothing personal, naturally, so I trust you'll understand."

Nott's jaw dropped slightly as his faced reddened in either anger or embarrassment as Avery and Macnair broke up into fits of laughter. Severus felt his head pivot sharply as he glared at Nott unappreciatively. He didn't like the idea of sub-par wizards creeping into his family line through the few members he could readily tolerate. Winifred shrugged to herself as she sipped her morning tea.

"Why so riled, Severus?" Winifred inquired with a teasing smile. "Plotting to keep me all to yourself?"

"More appropriately, I'm of the opinion that you could suit yourself with someone better than a lummox like Serpen Nott." Severus turned back to Winifred. "Also, I feel you and I have differing notions of what a polite rejection of a love letter entails."

"Love letter?" Winifred repeated quizzically before following along with Severus's conversation. "Oh no, Serpen didn't write me anything."

Severus stared at his cousin.

"So you humiliated the boy for no reason." Severus affirmed.

"Not at all." Winifred objected. "Just because he hasn't commit his feelings to paper doesn't mean I'm not aware that they're there. I figured it would be a generous gesture to clear the air and discourage him from embarking on such a potentially embarrassing route as composing a love letter or something of the like."

Privy to yet another glimpse of Winifred's detached logic of things, Severus was again forced to consider just how deeply his cousin's sociopathic tendencies ran. He was rapidly beginning to suspect she cared about little, possibly not even her own well being in light of her reckless concern for it, and hinged on amoral with every action.

Little appeared to be taboo to Winifred and less sacred.

How concerning and liberating all in the same thin stroke.

"Did you notice what Potter did to Evans?" Winifred questioned, moving the conversation along.

"Everyone's noticed the spectacle he's made of her, Winifred." Severus replied as though his response was completely superfluous. After all, the melody was chiming behind their words that very moment.

"It's ostentatious, granted, but it's a sweet gesture." Winifred countered.

"I fail to see the affection in turning one's respective other into a shining testimony of how desperately attention-seeking and inconsiderate someone can be." Severus argued.

"So YOU would go about things differently in such a situation?" Winifred prompted, shifting her gaze to Lily.

"Save your bait, Winifred, I won't bite." Severus advised curtly as he started his breakfast.

On the Gryffindors end of the Great Hall, many of the tables occupants received their own valentines from admirers, partners, and friends. Lily and James had a more modest collection of such as many at Hogwarts were well aware of their relationship but a few were compelled to write regardless. For his part, James had Wifflesnip bring Lily a beautiful arrangement of red roses and white lilies which made her smile.

For his part, Wifflesnip robbed the bacon off James's plate and screeched at his efforts to get the meat back before taking off which made Lily laugh.

Sirius had a grand assortment of sweets and cards from girls of all Years and was beginning to make a list of those to thank for the kind offerings. Arabella and Remus received a package of cookies that his younger brother Romulus had made as well as a few tokens from one another. Like most couples though, any significant gestures from either of them would be saved for later on.

Gwen McGinnis sent Peter a small painting of the lake outside the school shimmering at sunset which he seemed more than impressed by. Peter was considerate enough to send Valentine's to Gwen, Cassidy Kinkade, and Millicent Meeks just in case no one else thought of them. What caused a stir at the table was when an Owl brought Cassidy a bouquet of red and yellow roses and a small card.

"Looks like you have an admirer, Cass." Sirius grinned. "I'll be sure to tell them how light you are on your feet."

"Ye sent them to me, didn't ye, ye git?" Cassidy smirked as she eyed Sirius whom smiled stupidly at her.

"I'd like to think if I did, you'd say thank you in place of insulting me." Sirius replied vaguely.

"What's the card say?" Gwen attempted to peer over Cassidy's tall shoulder until she was elbowed back.

"Sod off before I punt ye, ye peeping pigmy." Cassidy ordered as she inspected the card. "Hmm, the post is short and simple. Reminds me of Gwen."

"I bet whoever sent you this would take it back if they knew what a mean cow you were!" Gwen pinched Cassidy in retaliation, causing the tall girl to laugh. Snatching the card, Gwen read the message aloud.

"'To the most brilliant star on and off the pitch'."

"That's very sweet." Millicent smiled. "I wonder who he is."

Half the table turned to Sirius with a knowing look.

Sirius met them with an innocent one.

"What?" He demanded. "You all should know I fancy taking credit for my work. Have I EVER done ANYTHING subtly in my life?"

Ignoring Sirius, Cassidy placed the roses down next to her and did an impressive job of not appearing to be flattered by the gift. Lily stole a glance at James, who had said nothing on Cassidy's delivery, and wondered if he might have had a hand in the roses.

More so, she wondered what he meant by them if James was the sender.

Turning to her own posts, Lily had a less pleasant surprise than the one Cassidy had received.

"Oh how thick do these people think I am?" Lily groaned in annoyance as she poured over the posts in her hand. She felt herself growing livid over the content and her cheeks flush in response. "They expect me to believe these – these counter-fit love letters are from Severus Snape! Some of them are positively vulgar!"

With that, Sirius and James started snatching at the posts to read for themselves: Sirius out of amusement and James for wanting to figure out who he would be hexing later for addressing his girlfriend in such a coarse manner. Lily didn't put up much of a fight against this since she was too disgusted by the prank to care what happened to the letters.

"Oh GOD!" James spat as he read one of the letters he had snatched. "If I believed Snape actually wrote HALF of these things to you, I'd murder him on the spot and server out my sentence in Azkaban with a smile!"

"Well at least we can be sure their not from Snape." Sirius snorted a chuckle over whatever he was reading. "First and foremost, his actual handwriting is so pretty I could ask him to go steady. And second, I don't really give him the credit of requesting to 'eat his lunch of your arse' but you know him better than I do Lily."

"Oh that's QUITE enough!" Lily seethed as the wrenched the posts out of James and Sirius's hands. Cassidy and Gwen stifled their laughter while Millicent, Peter, and Arabella had the decency to grow embarrassed on behalf of Lily. Remus won out with the most dramatic response as he spit out his fresh sip of tea.

"That is positively obscene!" Remus growled as he wiped the tea from his mouth with a napkin. "If any of you find out who wrote these horrible letters, let me know. I'll curse them myself."

Arabella nodded in agreement with his plan as she smiled at Remus's chivalry.

"Well I'll give ye one guess as to which House the authors most likely are from." Cassidy sneered as she nodded to the Slytherin's table.

"Good to know once they're run out for being the roots of all evil they'll have a future in erotic fiction." Peter muttered, eyeing the Slytherin unappreciatively.

Valentine's is such a ladies' holiday." Sirius decided as him and the rest of the Marauders made their way to Charms from the dormitories. The girls had gone off ahead to giggle about the holiday or whatever five girls talked about on Valentine's day. "They make out like bandits since the whole things panders to a cutesy appeal."

"Why don't you try to sell us on this Padfoot when we didn't just get done watching you receive your weight in chocolate?" Peter advised. "Honestly, Sirius, did you send Cassidy the roses?"

"Nope." Sirius answered.

"As in 'Nope, I didn't' or "Nope, I'm Sirius Black the fibbing git'?" Remus attempted to clarify.

"Yeah, ARE you bold-faced lying to us on this?" Peter demanded.

"Well that's a distinct risk you run in any conversation with me, now isn't it mates?" Sirius grinned.

"Be serious!" Peter insisted.

"Now who else you reckon would I be?" Sirius punned off the pronunciation of his name.

Giving up on talking with Sirius, Remus turned to James.

"James, I have a thought." Remus introduced. "How about you NOT be a prat like Sirius is right not and lift those enchantments off Lily? She's been a good sport about it so far but I doubt she'll be able to keep it up the entire day."

"As I said, Moony, I suspect she's touched by it." James grinned. "That and it sends a message out loud and clear to anyone who might be still fuzzy on the nature of my and Lily's relationship."

"Love has made you the possessive, paranoid sort, hasn't it Prongs?" Peter interjected.

"Just wait until I have her barefoot and pregnant while chained to a cauldron." James sarcastically replied. "After all, don't want her running about unattended when she's baring all my male heirs."

James stopped chatting when he noticed Sirius pointing to something off to his side with an amused expression.

"You have a visitor, Mate." Sirius informed.

James nearly jumped out of his skin, certain he'd turn to find Lily right next to him and taking his joke entirely out of context. Ready to launch into his explanation/apology, James turned not to find Lily but a small stuffed bear with dark scruffy hair and spectacles ridding a broom with their House Color robes. It was flying and bobbing alongside the boys under its own power with a letter folded over the handle.

"That's bloody adorable." Remus grinned.

"Looks like Lily's handiwork to me." Sirius nodded in agreement.

James pulled the post from the hovering toy, scanning Lily's scrawl quickly before reading it aloud.

Just following in suit with your Valentine's Day gestures, James.

Love,

Lily

"Great so it will probably be exploding any moment now." Peter groaned.

"It looks harmless enough." James scoffed as he eyed the bear with an amused and flattered smile. "Handsome little thing too."

Reaching out to grab the bear and give it a closer look, James only grasped a fist of air as the broom-ridding bear dodged his hand off to the side. Chuckling, James attempted to take hold of the toy again but met with the same results.

"Looks like he has no intention of giving himself up quietly." Sirius smirked, deciding to laugh along with Remus and Peter rather than lend a hand.

"Yeah, well it wouldn't be the first cute thing to play hard to get with me now would it." James muttered, entertained by the challenge.

Handing his charms supplies off to Remus, James lunged at the bear with both hands but missed as it darted out of his way. Snatching futilely at the elusive toy a couple more times, the bear zipped down the corridor at an impressive speed.

"GET BACK HERE YOU SWIFT LITTLE BUGGER!" Fixated on catching Lily's gift, James gave chase after the bear, abandoning his friends as he headed in the completely opposite direction of Charms class.

Peter, Remus and Sirius were beside themselves with laughter.

"Oh it serves him bloody right!" Peter gasped for breath.

"He'll be late for class I imagine." Remus grinned. "You don't suppose he'll catch it?"

"It will probably menace the school until it has a battle to the death with Peeves." Sirius guessed as he watched James almost barrel into Snape, Wilkes, and a few other Slytherin on their way to Herbology and erupted into more pointing and laughing. The Slytherin's that weren't yelling things at James were scowling at them now.

Remus grabbed Sirius by the back of his robes and began pulling him off to class.

No sense in them all being late with James.

Entering Professor Flitwick's classroom, Remus took a free seat by Arabella while Sirius and Peter partnered up. He handed James's bag off to Lily as he sat down.

"What happened to your entourage?" Remus noted the absence of Lily's halo, harp, and petal trail.

"They vanished once I stepped into class. I guess James was considerate enough not to get us both in trouble with his affections." Lily shrugged. "Speaking of which, where is my mischievous love?"

"Running down your gift." Remus reported. "I imagine he might be detained for a bit.

Lily chuckled to herself as she turned her attention over to Professor Flitwick.

Nearly ten minutes into class, James arrived sweating and looking completely without breath. He apologized to Professor Flitwick, winced as two points were taken off Gryffindor for his tardiness, and sat next to Lily as Professor Flitwick went on with his lesson.

"I see you haven't caught your present yet." Lily observed under her breath with a grin.

"You did that on purpose?" James hissed, panting for air. "I thought the bloody thing was defective!"

"Oh far from it!" Lily assured. "I put the same type of Charm they use on Snitches to make them so mindfully elusive. Shouldn't be too much of a challenge for a hot-shot Quidditch Captain like you. Of course, I can't recall the last time you played at being Seeker. . . "

James gapped at Lily.

"You just threw that charm on before class?" James questioned.

"After breakfast, yes." Lily nodded.

"Clever girl." James smiled, thoroughly impressed as how easily she managed a typically involved spell.

"I thought you'd appreciate that." Lily returned the smile as she slipped her hand into James beneath their desks.

"Just another reason to be hopelessly in love you." James whispered, wondering if kissing her would be worth having all of the 6th Year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws as spectators and a few more points off Gryffindor. Deciding against it, he settled back into his chair, squeezing Lily's hand as he stole a glance at her.

"I wonder how you'll get back at me after you see what else I've got planned." James mused happily, causing Lily to turn toward him with an exasperated expression.

"Pardon?"

Eating lunch in the Great Hall had quickly lost its appeal to Severus Snape as he grew nauseated by the hormone crazed, affection starved teenagers encompassing him. The novelty has officially worn off when a stuffed bear piloting a broom did a lap around the Hall and prompted Potter to leap from his seat and give a dramatic chase after it.

While the rest of Hogwarts appeared to be thoroughly amused, Severus had only lost his appetite.

Making his way back to his room, Severus decided to use the free hour before Potions class to inspect the mail he had received that morning. He intended to read Aurora's letter first since it was likely his other posts would have a great effect in souring his mood after he was finished with them. He would also be certain not to write back to her until the next day so as not to taint the content of his reply with an even more bitter that usual mood.

Locking himself in his dorm, Sevuers removed the posts from his robes and thumbed through them until he found the one from Aurora. Setting the other envelopes on the nearest surface that wasn't overrun by his potion projects, Severus sat in his chair and read what Black's eldest sister had to say this time around.

1977, Feb. 13th,

Dear Severus;

My apologies for taking so long to reply to your post. I haven't had all that much time to myself recently as I have been entirely preoccupied with my work in the Ministry. I'm not certain if you've heard about this since you're at Hogwarts but there was an incident in Northern Ireland. It is suspected that a cabal of Death Eaters terrorized a populated township of Muggles simply to get at a family of Wizards. I've been there to represent the interests of the Ministry and council those in need of it.

Needless to say, writing this letter is a welcomed change to my previous week.

Well I'm glad things are sticking to the ordinary by you. At times tedium can be a favorable considering the possible alternatives. I believe you asked some questions of me that you were hoping I would reply to. If you were worried about offending me with them, please don't trouble yourself. If you were hoping to get a rise out of me, you'll have to do better than this I'm afraid. Sixteen years of enduring Sirius has left me with an incredibly thick layer of skin to a great many matters of privacy and humiliation.

Still, it's unfortunate that you think I'm only attempting to draw out the darkest details of your life while offering no perspective of my own. I suppose my profession does make me something of a suspicious individual. I blame myself for this misunderstanding. Not as large a portion as I blame on your being reared in Slytherin during your formative years, mind you, but I still blame myself.

I believe I shall press on then.

Regarding things between myself and Lucius, I'm afraid that's not only an old story to tell but an all too common one. We dated once upon a time when we were too young to notice the horizon of our relationship. Things ended not long before we both graduated Hogwarts and fell out of one another's social circles for a time. When I started working with the Ministry about six years ago we began casually interacting a bit while avoiding old habits which appears to work more often than not. Lucius and I bear no ill-will over our thoroughly dissolved union as we share enough interests to be acquainted but lack what is required of something more. Oh and I don't consider this prying. I'm well aware of how Lucius and I share a more than ambiguous relationship in the eyes of others.

I suppose your second question is asking why I dote on my younger brother when he insists on being such a handful? I find this to be a challenging answer to attempt, not because I'm without my reasons but I'm not sure if you would be able to understand them being an only child. For all his faults, acquired and inherent, I have found Sirius to possess an infinite amount of qualities to admire and treasure. Of all the people in my life, Sirius has never failed me. Not because I pretend my brother is perfect by any means or innocent of his offences, but because I know he is never purposefully malicious in any of his deeds. For that, the affections and obligation I feel for Sirius runs as deep as the blood in my veins.

In response to your third question, don't trouble yourself with worrying about whether I have people closer to my own near-ancient age to speak with. I have friends from my days at Hogwarts I still speak with from time to time and colleagues at the Ministry that I share a pleasant work environment with. I don't find ageism to be a prudent practice since we are all a part of the same community and will all play our part in it one day. You're on the cusp of entering the real world, Severus, no sense in babying you now.

As for why I speak to you in particular, I suppose that is largely attributed to my fondness of frank conversation. I cannot honestly admit that I entirely agree with everything you say; however I can be certain that it is in the very least sincere and substantiated; two qualities the politics of words in the Wizarding World are often lacking. I'm sure surviving Slytherin has given you an appreciation for the value of duplicitous words, what I find impressive is that it has failed to infect you as it has the other Slytherin I've known.

I find afternoon tea with Lucius Malfoy every Thursday to be particularly affirming of this.

It has just come to my attention as I had found my calendar beneath the disarray of my desk that Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Good thing I'm soaring solo these days otherwise I'd have to postpone the remainder of this letter to race out and make last minute arrangement to keep from jilting my lover on the holiday. Since I don't have to do that and I have an affection for wasting parchment I will mark the occasion regardless by reciting my favorite romantic tale which happens to be a myth of the Ancient Greeks about the Moon Goddess, Selene, and a mortal named Endymion.

Selene, who was the sister of Helios (the Sun) and Eos (the Dawn), traveled across the sky one night until she fell upon a sleeping mortal named Endymion whom she instantly fell in love with and fell in love with her in return. She visited him every night and the two were happy and in love for a time until Selene grew sad by the thought of Endymion's mortality which would force him to age and die while she, a Goddess would remain young and eternal. She approached Zeus, the King of the Gods, for a means to keep Endymion with her for all time. Zeus refused to exalt the mortal and sent the broken-hearted Selene away.

Returning to Endymion to find him fast asleep after waiting for her, Selene bent over her sleeping lover and kissed each of his eyelids as it was the only thing she could do. This act placed Endymion in an immortal sleep that he would never awaken from, preserved for eternity in the same youth and manner as when Selene had first laid eyes upon him. And with Endymion, Selene had fifty daughters who became the nymphs of the sea.

And each night, Selene flies to Endymion to be with her sleeping love.

And each night, Endymion dreams of Selene.

Or at least that's the version I like to tell.

This is why I named by Morning Dove Helios so as to complete the circle of sorts. My namesake is that of the Dawn, or Eos, whose herald is the sun all the while I chase after the romantic beauty of a distant moon.

I assure you it all seemed very clever when I was thirteen.

In any case, I'll do what I can in committing myself to replying to you within a few days of any posts you send me from now on. It's only fair since you take the time to write me in the first place.

Happy Valentine's Day,

Aurora Black

Finishing the letter, Severus became aware that he had unconsciously placed him hand over the forearm of his left arm as he read. Severus quickly retracted his hand as he studied the post contemplatively. He should have assumed Aurora would have dealing with Death Eaters. On some level, all Ministry personal did, as Severus thought more about it.

Severus was aware of the contemptuous mentality most followers of the Dark Lord had for Muggles and the Muggle-Born and thought little of them falling in the path of danger, but their agenda was not genocidal. Merely revolutionary. An outcry against an unsatisfactory social order where knowledge and power was seen as capriciously as good or evil. How could any system of order be satisfactory when its rulers were terrified of the unknown and obscure while making no effort at all to understand it, let alone utilize it?

In any rebellion, battles were fought and blood was spilled. It was a natural prerequisite of a coup, the need for a death rattle before there could be a fresh gasp of life. All change was brutal and passionate as it struggles for its voice, but once the dust had settles, once the opposition submitted to the new philosophy the violence would taper than fade and life would begin its new definition of normal. In the meantime, those who were seen as instrumental in opposing Voldemort's insurrection would dealt with for the security of the movement. And since the majority of Aurora's work seemed to be with victims and their families as well as being born a Pureblooded Witch there was little chance of her earning their ire.

Severus found this rationality oddly comforting.

Glossing over to her response about Lucius, Severus found it interesting that Aurora and Malfoy had two entirely different interpretations of their relationship. He wondered if she was ignorant of Lucius's intentions but doubted it considering the remarkably astute nature of the woman. Aurora had to be aware of Lucius's efforts to manipulate her into some comfortable corner of his life. She's known him too long to expect anything less.

Then again, people are often blind to that which if close to them.

Rereading the passage about her protectiveness of Sirius Black, Severus decided she was wrong to assume he couldn't appreciate the altruistic nature of their relationship. He tasted this marginally through Winifred. Not to the relentless extent the Black sibling shared, but there was still an unwavering quality. If anything, he and Winifred hindered themselves and allowed for unnecessary vulnerabilities with their invested efforts on one another's behalf, but it would probably be more trying to alter this behavior rather than embrace it.

As for why she wrote him, Severus had greatly underestimated the amusement he appeared to bring Aurora. He didn't find himself particularly entertaining however she apparently found something to appreciate in corresponding with him. For her part, Aurora was filling the void left by Lily Evans in regards to meaningful conversation ever since she became so distracted by Potter and lacked the duplicitous, scrutinizing undertones of his dialogues with Winifred.

The tale of Selene and Endymion was lost on Severus slightly. Unless it was necessary of some assignment, Severus had never had much of an inclination to read fairytales and myths and his parents had neglected in reciting any to him in his youth. He found the appeal in the story for a young girl and how it could possess a nostalgic value to a young woman, although he regarded Selene to be exceptionally selfish in her preference to reducing Endymion to a comatose state as opposed to abandoning their love.

Perhaps he had missed the point.

Folding Aurora's letter up and returning it to the inner pocket of his robes, Severus went over to his desk and removed an object that looked like a magnifying glass and returned to his other letters.

As he had anticipated, each post Severus read was fraudulent "love letters from Lily Evans." Inspecting the text with his Manifesting Glass, an instrument used for revealing falsehoods and deceitful intentions in written documents, Severus literally read between the lines of the letters and saw what the intentions of the author had been. If the forging party was careless enough to impersonate someone's signature, the Manifesting Glass would read the writer's true name instead.

Amidst the fakes was a letter from Florence Copia; a Slytherin girl in his Year who kept close company with Winifred.

Severus didn't bother to even open it.

Making a mental list of those who would be brutally hexed for his inconvenience with this nonsense, the last letter proved to be the most troubling of the lot.

You must consider me a coward to hide behind my quill. I am too intimidated by you for anything more.

You have that effect on people.

Your presence is so commanding. Everything you do is precise. I notice these things about you. Everyone else only sees the obvious. They never look past the image you project for their benefit. They do not understand that all they see you as is only what they invented for you to be.

I see the small gestures of consideration that everyone else has overlooked. The integrity they would pretend is not there. I ignore their conversations and gossip. I want to be above it all like you always appear to be.

Or perhaps that is just what you would have me believe . . .

Severus was surprised to find what whomever wrote the neatly scribed, anonymous letter was sincere in their words. Uncertain as to how to react or what he should do next, Severus was quickly growing agitated with all the mysteries orbiting his life that were too elusive for him to solve. Folding up the letter and locking it in his desk draw, Severus burnt Florence's post along with the letters from "Lily" and gathered his supplies for Potions Class while lost in his thoughts.

By the afternoon, Lily had figured out that James's charms only bothered to expel themselves whenever she entered a classroom. This was most likely a precaution against landing the both of them in trouble with their Professors for the day; however, James evidently had no reservations in making her prance about with them through the corridors and Great Hall.

Potions moved at a sluggish pace as Lily and James found their project for the day to be far beneath their level of expertise. Severus Snape appeared to be bored as well while Millicent was too polite to even be discontent. Lily was about to stifle a yawn when she heard Gwen comment from behind her:

"Well would you look at that!"

Glancing over her shoulder, Lily noticed that Gwen was pointing towards the ceiling. Following the girls motions, Lily noticed that the steam from the cauldrons had written out a message in lavender words.

I would not allow the world to turn another second

With out it knowing how better your presence makes it be

A dream for the awaken and a truth for those who sleep

The seasons could change lifetimes over

But I would always see you the same

Ever elegant

Ever brilliant

And everything to me

Love James

Surprised and flattered, Lily turned to James who was offering up the goofiest grin.

"How – " Lily breathed.

"I swapped out the water beetles we were using for our draughts today with some ones I enchanted. Each Cauldron is meant to give off a different verse." James explained.

Leaning in, Lily kissed him for his trouble. The Gryffindors and Professor Brewsteem appeared to find the gesture cute while most of the Slytherin were glaring or feigning nausea. Winifred Wilkes offered up a tipped applause for the effort before she and Florence held up their wands. Each had a ribbon appear out of the tip offering up a number as their judgment.

"I give it a nine." Winifred announced.

"Looks like an eight effort to me." Florence disagreed.

"Perfect ten." Sirius jumped in with his own rating. "But for the kiss only, I'm going with the nine otherwise. It could have stood for a bit more panache in my opinion."

This earned a few chuckles in the class, save for Snape who was rotating his glare between the two Slytherin judges and Sirius as well as Lestrange and Tudor who were whispering darkly between themselves.

Those who caught this knew little good would probably amount from the couple's heated plotting.

Class progressed relatively uneventfully until Brewsteem dismissed them for the day. Ushering Millicent off as he finished reorganizing their station, Severus noticed Winifred walk off with the other Slytherin girls from the corner of his eye however Florence Copia lingered.

"Did you receive my valentine?" Florence inquired, her dark curls bobbing as she spoke.

"Yes." Severus admitted glaring at Florence. "I didn't bother to strain my eyes on the content and went straight to incinerating it."

Florence crossed her arms, glowering.

"That's very rude." Florence curtly informed. "I actually put thought into the wording of it."

"I'm far past caring about anything you do, Copia." Severus replied with venom.

"I'd think you could AT LEAST refer to me by my first name." Florence sneered. "All things considering."

"You're lucky if Copia is the only thing I call you, All. Things. Considering." Severus insisted harshly. "Now quite badgering me with your school-girl games and make yourself scarce before I inform Winifred of your thoughtful gesture."

Florence stole a glance at Winifred who was still talking with Mary and Hekate Undercross. A flicker of fear entered her eyes at the prospects of her friend becoming suddenly involved in the conversation, before she stormed off. Catching sight of Nott, Severus made sure Brewsteem was nowhere in sight as he hexed Nott with a blistering curse on his quill hand. Cringing over the sudden pain, Nott seemed as though he was about to question Severus's motives.

Severus spared him the mystery.

"Winifred's not the only member of my line you should spare any declarations of affection for, Nott." Severus insisted dryly before walking off to the Library with a satisfied expression.

Catching sight of this, Winifred broke away from the Slytherin girls to approach Nott.

"Don't take it to heart, Serpen." Winifred cooed in a falsely sympathetic voice. "You're really just not Severus's type."

"Same could be said for you." Nott snapped back as he examined his hand. "Though I very much suspect that the lot of your line would die out entirely if you didn't look inward every so often."

"I don't appreciate the implications of that." Winifred stared hard at Nott, chewing on some extra words.

"What's the matter, Love?" Nott sneered. "You think you and your cousin are the only ones with a wicked tongues lashing about?"

"Take. It. Back." Winifred spoke through her teeth.

"Which part: The jibe at your thin-skinned banter or the crack about incest?" Nott demanded, undaunted by Winifred in the least. He saw her as nothing more impressive than a spoiled, little pureblooded witch who was far too accustom to her creepy cousin doting on her. "I think you're worlds scarier when you're cowering behind your cousin, Winifred."

"Don't play games with me." Winifred warned in a cold tone. "I always play by my own terms, Nott, and I always play to win."

"Did I hit a sore spot with you, Winifred?" Nott inquired. "Or just an itch Severus won't scratch?"

Winifred's eyes flared as the quivered in rage. She wanted to draw her wand. She wanted to shout a dozen dark hexes at Nott. Ones that would wound, cripple, blind, deafen, but above all mute Nott.

She did none of these things.

Instead she only said.

"Watch those loose steps, Serpen. A clumsy boy like yourself might just trip over his own words." Winifred advised before swiftly striding in the opposite direction.

A romantic sunset illuminated the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall as the students seated themselves to dinner. Deciding that his gesture of love had gone on long enough, James dispelled the enchantments he had placed on Lily much to her relief and found her to be a lot more affectionate towards him without their presence. And even after an entire day of their company, Lily still didn't seem to be all that bothered by them.

Witnessing such tolerance and fortitude attracted him to Lily all the more.

The chime of a glass goblet being tapped from the Head Table of the Hall drew the attention of the students as Professor Dumbledore rose to address them. Everyone fell silent as a courtesy to the powerful, elderly Wizard.

"I would like to begin with saying that I hope all of you have experienced a satisfying Valentine's Day even if it is in the most remote of fashions. In regards to the scheduled visit to Hogsmeade for this weekend, all students are expected to meet with their House Prefect at the time they specified on Saturday morning after breakfast if they plan to attend the outing."

Hushed whispers of formulating plans for the Hogsmeade visit buzzed along the tables as the Headmaster continued.

"Additionally, the faculty had requested I insist that the flying stuffed bear that has been terrorizing the hallways be claimed before someone is either harmed or annoyed enough to debroom it."

Professor Dumbledore appeared to be speaking directly to the Gryffindor table on this point of order and it certainly didn't help as the 6th Year section started to stifle their laughter.

"Finally, for those of you whom care to convene in the school courtyard after dinner, a casual setting has been prepared in honor of the holiday with warm beverages and baked sweets that I can assure are quite delicious. Otherwise, I wish you a Happy Valentines day on behalf of myself and the Hogwarts faculty."

As Professor Dumbledore took his seat, the respectful silence was broken in the Great Hall as the students returned to chatting. The over all consensuses in the room appeared to be a majority of the school deciding to meet in the courtyard after they had finished with their meal.

After dinner, James and the other 6th Year Gryffindors returned to the dormitories to grab a couple spare blankets to spread out beneath them on the grass. Offering to grab them from their room, the boys ventured up to their dorm while the girls waited in the commons for them. Peter raided the spare closet while Remus and Sirius, by their description "supervised", James went over to his corner of the room and began strapping on his Quiddtich boots and gloves.

"Don't tell me you scheduled Quidditch practice on Valentine's day, you heartless, soon-to-be-single, slave driving bastard you!" Sirius gasped, earning a dirty look from James.

"Not at all, you accusing git." James replied as he continued applying his equipment.

"We all know Lily fancies you in your Quidditch robes James, but I'm sure you'll manage just fine without." Remus teased as James jumped to his feet with his broom in hand. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"I'm about to see if I have any skill at being a Seeker." James announced with a manic grin as he head off towards the door. Remus, Sirius, and a blanket-laden Peter followed after him, curious to see how this would turn out.

Hopping down the stairs, the girls gave quizzical looks at James and his broom.

"I'm not playing a match of Quidditch with ye, ye unsentimental wanker!" Cassidy demanded. "Is nothing sacred to ye, Potter?"

"I'M NOT CALLING A PRACTICE!" James assured irritably.

"Seriously, you two: Date." Remus insisted as he gestured between Sirius and Cassidy.

"Then what are you doing?" Lily questioned.

"I was going to – " James started for thinking better of sharing his plan with Lily. "That is to say, I'll be right along I just need to drop off my broom. I need to have Madam Hooch give it the once over to make sure everything's working fine before our team has practice again."

James and Lily stared at one another, before Lily crossed her arms over her chest.

"How can you be THIS horrible at lying to me?" Lily marveled.

"I'm not lying." James lied.

"Oh, and I suppose you need to wear your safety gear when you suddenly have to drop your cherished broom off to Madam Hooch at seven o'clock at night?" Lily scoffed. "If something WAS wrong with your broom, you'd have been whining about it all day and brought it in the first chance you got!"

"Shame on you, James Potter!" Arabella chided as she petted her kitten Bast. "Lies makes baby kittens cry."

"You tell him, Pet." Remus nodded approvingly, as he put an arm around Arabella.

"Kittens, James, really!" Sirius shook his head in disbelief before grinning.

James started chuckling without humor as the shot a glare at Sirius.

"Sirius, I know you think you're helping, I don't know WHY you think that but I may have to hurt you a bit if you keep it up, Mate." James warned.

"You're not planning on chasing down my bear are you?" Lily's green eyes were suddenly very intrusive.

"Possibly." James tightened his grip on his broom handle.

"No." Lily said sternly.

"Why?' James's tone hit that of a whining child's.

"Aside from the countless violations of school rules, these castle corridors can be narrow and turns sharp!" Lily pointed out crossly. "You'll get yourself killed and I think I deserve better than a corpse as my date for Valentines!"

"Yeah, she did choose you over Snape after all!" Sirius contributed in his usual unhelpful manner.

Lily turned to Sirius with a dark look.

"Sirius, if James doesn't pummel you for your commentary I will." Lily promised.

Sirius took this as his cue to back off from the conversation.

"Lily. Love. Are you going to break things off with me or stop speaking to me all together over this?" James pressed seriously. "I'd like to know up front if that's the case."

James felt like testing the boundaries of their relationship on this matter. He had been doing it all day with his enchantments, trying to figure out how much Lily could take of his personality. It wasn't that he wanted to deliberately irritate her or contradict her every request, but he had to know his limits.

Especially now that they were in love with one another.

More than willing to taper back his usually wild and reckless personality on occasion, James had to know Lily could be a good sport about his usual brand of humor and wasn't plotting to cut him off at the knees every time he felt a little bit daring. He was willing to compromise a lot to appease Lily, but he still needed to be himself.

And flying his broom at breakneck speeds through confined spaces in pursuit of a possessed toy happened to be all in a days work for James Potter.

Lily gapped at James, before she sucked in a breath.

"I'll take off points." Lily threw out.

This was the best she had to use against James since there was no way she was going to break up with James over something as petty as this. She loved him. You don't give up something like that for this sort of thing, although she till wished he wouldn't attempt it regardless. Mostly, she was just worried about James hurting himself, but considering his skill with a broom Lily had to hope this would be unlikely.

James seemed approving of this response.

"Well just so long as its House points I'm winning back rather than you." James grinned as he kissed Lily on the check quickly and sprinted out the portrait entrance. "See you in the court!"

"So I imagine you and James will be communicating non-verbally this Valentines?" Gwen raised her eyebrow.

"Are you kidding? I want to hear how he pulls this stunt off." Lily smiled, before clearing her throat and stiffening her composure. "And ten points from Gryffindor."

"You are a most formidable Prefect, Lily." Arabella shook her head amused. "Why don't the lot of you go on ahead, Remus and I will be right along."

The rest of the 6th Years shrugged and didn't bother to question Arabella's request too much considering she and Remus were seeing one another. Leading Remus off to an open table in the Commons, Arabella listened as their friends filed out along with a few other Gryffindor stragglers on their ways to the Valentine's social. Placing Bast on the table top, Arabella was content to let her sniff about her surroundings as she turned to Remus.

"We exchanging our gifts now?" Remus inquired.

"Probably a good idea since I don't much feel like having Sirius's commentary through every moment of it." Arabella nodded.

"Smart plan that." Remus nodded approvingly as he began rifling through his robes until he found a thin, rectangular box and passed it off to Arabella. "Here you are then."

Arabella accepted the box with a smile and opened it, finding a pretty gold bracelet with a charm in the shape of a cat that was animated under closer expectation.

"A Charmed Bracelet." Arabella sighed.

"Figured it would be an easy gift for people to keep up with." Remus shrugged. "You know, in case they were at a loss of what to get you."

"It's grand." Arabella assured quietly. Taking a deep breath, Arabella reached into her own robes and produced a square shape box. "Now I feel positively bad for getting you this."

"I'm sure it will be exceptional." Remus soothed with a smile as he gently removed the box from her hand and opened the lid.

It as an oval stone about as large as a fingernail. It was opaque and white with a blue tint where the light caught it. The stone was fastened onto a pale chain. Remus felt his throat tighten as he stared at the jewelry, in specific the chain.

"What is it?" He asked softly.

"Moonstone on a silver chain." Arabella kept her pale eyes glued on Remus.

He couldn't tell this as he was transfixed on the contents of the box.

"It's wonderful." Remus stated in a wooden voice.

"Are you going to put it on?" Arabella asked quietly.

Remus knew what to expect. It would be like a horrible allergic reaction. First, the presence of the silver resting against his skin would be irritating and give him an ill feeling all over. Soon after that, it would cause his flesh to redden then blister as he'd begin to experience the symptoms of a harsh fever. If kept on for too long past that . . .

"Yes." Remus consented.

A little while wouldn't be unbearable.

Just a little bit for Arabella's sake.

Reaching for the necklace, Arabella placed her hand over the mouth of the box to cover it. Staring deliberately at Remus, Arabella bit her lip.

"Remus." Arabella began gently. "When are you going to simply tell me that you're a werewolf?"

Remus felt his jaw drop slightly as his eyes adverted from Arabella's.

"I didn't want to hurt you." Was the first thing that came to Remus's mind.

"And you don't think this did?" Arabella replied. "Having to add up so many splintered clues: your clock work absences, Romulus's chatter, Snape's comment about a lunar calendar – "

"Snape told you." Remus interrupted, not sounding very surprised but bitter nonetheless.

"No, I pieced it together on my own, I just had to be sure so I told you the chain was silver, but it's not. I just need to see your reaction to the thought." Arabella admitted softly. "It's nice that you saw fit to tell that nightmare Snape before me."

"That's not how it happened." Remus corrected urgently. He wanted to put his arm around her, to comfort her, but he wasn't sure how she would react at the moment so he didn't dare risk it.

"So does everyone but me know?" Arabella asked straight out. "I'm I just so thick that I didn't get the post?"

"No, not at all." Remus insisted. "Arabella, the only people whom my family ever told about my . . . situation was the faculty because they had to know. The few, and I stress FEW parties outside of that only know what I am by accident or because they managed to sort out the facts like you did. The reason I never told you about my predicament was because I've never told anyone about it."

Remus sighed as he leaned against the table for support.

"I guess I just didn't know how to tell it to anybody. And saying it to you . . . it just seemed so impossible anytime I tried."

"Because you don't trust me with your secret?" Arabella wandered.

"No." Remus denied this. "I just . . . it's all just so complicated for me to explain . . ."

Remus felt tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to fall if his emotions rose anymore than where they were already at. It was so rare for him to cry that he almost forgot what it was like and when he did it was different from this occasion. He had cried for his family, for James, Sirius, Peter, Lily, and even Snape. He cried for Arabella.

Remus never cried for himself.

Remus never felt sorry for himself because he knew if he started to the feeling would consume him eventually and he would never stop feeling sorry for himself.

In a single motion that she had mimicked countless times before this, Arabella slid her arms around the length of Remus's body and rested her head against him.

It had never felt as comforting as it did just now.

"Could you just try to explain it?" Arabella pleaded.

Looking down at Arabella, Remus could only see the top of her golden head. He pulled his arms around her and gripped Arabella close to him.

"Yes I will." Remus promised, closing his eyes breathing deeply. He felt his high cheeks become damp with his fresh tears. "You must hate me a bit now."

Arabella turned her face up to Remus and ran her hand across his face, catching the tears on her fingertips. She smiled at him.

"I do just a bit, but not for the reason you'd think. I love you, even if you are a secret keeping brooding git." Arabella reassured. "And even if you don't really want me to say that."

"I love you too." Remus responded suddenly, more so to himself than Arabella. Arabella smiled at him and he smiled back in the first sincere smile he'd felt in the longest time.

"It's alright if we say that now." Remus decided. "I just wanted to make sure you knew who you were saying it to. Those three words are so hard to take back."

"Well, you'll have to do worse than being a werewolf for that to happen." Arabella hugged him tighter. "Especially considering all girls can expect to be a bit of a terror once or twice a month."

Remus could always leave it to Arabella to make him laugh even when he was most down.

It was one of the things to love about the funny, quirky girl.

"Wonder what's keeping Arabella and Remus." Gwen mused as she sipped her hot chocolate. They had said they'd be right along but it was over half an hour since they last saw them.

"I imagine he's probably giving her more than a gift, but that's just the optimist in me." Sirius took it upon himself to field that question. Cassidy, Peter, and Lily all rolled their eyes; Gwen snickered a bit, as Millicent went bright red over the innuendo.

"Sirius, you really should start rumors like that." Millicent chided modestly on behalf of Remus and Arabella. "I mean, what exactly will people think?"

"That they're damn lucky to have one another." Sirius tried with a smile that showed he was happy for the two, before stealing a glance at Lily. "Same goes for you and James."

"So did you find anyone promising amidst your tokens from admires?" Lily teased in a friendly way to Sirius. Sirius laughed broadly as he seemed to be debating how the best reply.

"I'm exploring my options presently." Sirius informed before nodding off past Lily's shoulder. "And look who's here."

James swaggered up to his friends triumphantly as he held out the struggling stuffed bear as his trophy. A round of laughter and clapping erupted from the Gryfffindors as James sat down with fussing toy as it attempted to wiggle free.

"So you actually caught him?" Lily observed, impressed.

"Yeah, but he made me work for it!" James laughed. "Isn't that right, James Jr.?"

"'James Jr.'?" Half the Gryffindor's repeated.

"Well what else am I supposed to call him?" James shrugged. "Harry?"

"Yer going to be one of those prats who has to name his first born after him aren't ye?" Cassidy inquired, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I suppose I could name him Jim." James teased.

Raising her wand toward the bear, Lily dispelled the Evasive Charm from the bear, leaving it dormant under James's grip. Setting the toy off to the side, James put his arm around Lily and drew her closer to him on the blanket.

"Not cross with me are you?" James murmured in her ear.

"No." Lily decided as she kissed his cheek. Lingering there for a moment, Lily added in a whisper so as to be discrete in front of the rest of their friends. "If you'd like, you could come over this evening and stay over. I somewhat miss sleeping with you at my side."

"Sure." He agreed with a smile. James thought about how it had been over a month since he and Lily last shared a bed and thought that would be a grand way to cap off his first Valentine's with her. James leaned in to kiss Lily but stopped when he felt a presence looming over head. Glancing up he found a very unhappy looking Professor McGonagall staring down at him.

"You're not going to bust us for snogging are you?" James protested. "Because first off, I'd like to say you only have me on intent at the moment and secondly all the other kids are doing it."

"No Mr. Potter, I would like to discuss your fancy flying through the school halls for a bit." Professor McGonagall corrected, eyeing James's broom and Quidditch gear. James threw up an awkward smile as he lifted himself off the ground.

"Saw that, did you?" James asked softly.

"Oh yes." McGonagall nodded as she started to lead James off towards her office. "Come along this instant! I cannot believe you could be so careless as to pilot your broom in the school halls! Do you realize how many people could have been hurt by this thoughtless stunt? Honestly I would think by now you would have sense enough to. . .to not wink and mouth things to Miss Evans while I'm speaking to you!"

"And what did you do with your Valentine's day?" Winifred inquired politely as she approached where he was seated in the courtyard. It was a on a short ledge that ran in the court in a location that was far too bright and in the open for most couples and not particularly attractive for casual groupings. Winifred was a little surprised to find him amongst the other students, but didn't bother to question it.

"I read." Severus reported unimpressively as he glanced up only briefly from the book in his lap.

"I hope it was at least for pleasure." Winifred frowned. "If you spent all day studying I would feel quite sad for you."

"Well thankfully I shall be spared your pity, Winifred." Severus replied as he passed his cousin the book.

Inspecting the cover, Winifred raised an eyebrow to Severus.

"Greek Mythology?" Winifred observed as she paged through the book. This certainly wasn't her cousin's usual choice in literature as she was far more accustom to finding him with a potions tome or book on the Dark Arts. Assuming he was either seeking out some reference for a purpose she wasn't aware of or merely enjoying the oft-times savage and taboo legends, Winifred handed the book back. "Anything worth mentioning?"

"They have their memorable moments." Severus admitted as he reopened his book and resumed reading.

"I hear they typically end tragically." Winifred commented.

"Most are." Severus nodded. He then thought of Selene and Endymion.

"A few manage to be bitter-sweet though."


	26. SecretKeeper

Secret-Keeper

By: Oy! Angelina

"So what are you guys planning on doing while at Hogsmeade?" Sirius demanded as he and the other Marauders awoke Saturday morning and began to casually dress themselves for the day.

"I don't think we're going, actually." Remus confessed. "I mean, it's not like we haven't been there a million times with the school."

"Or without." Peter referred to all their unscheduled visits through the tunnels. "After four years of wandering out there practically once a week I guess the novelty's starting to finally wear out."

"And with Lily helping the faculty chaperon, it's not like it would be all that much fun for me to go if you all aren't there." James shrugged.

"You could always have a round of Butterbeers with Snape and talk about Lily." Peter offered as a joke.

"Actually, James can't since Snape's a Prefect as well." Remus pointed out.

"Well that certainly shot down my afternoon." James smirked, before turning to Sirius. "I got an idea. Since most the school will be gone anyway, how about we get in a little practice for you on the Pitch?"

Sirius finished pulling his shirt over his head and eyed his friends.

"Do I look like Serpen Nott to you all?" Sirius demanded with a grin. "Because I'm desperately trying to figure out why you're speaking to me as though I'm some thick git who wouldn't know if a flight of stairs were slipping out from beneath my feet."

"What are you going on about, Mate?" Peter asked innocently.

"_'Golly gee, Padfoot, Hogsmeade sure is suddenly lame. Not that it has anything to do with the fact you can't come along because of your probation, but if it did we'd all be clever enough to devise some excuse to stay with you out of pity without making it seem like that. Fancy a game of Quidditch?_'" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Sod off the lot of you, have a great time, and be sure to bring me back something sweet and flammable. Preferably not all in the same product."

"That's not it." James protested. "Honestly, it's as dull as the History of Magic. . ."

Sirius walked up to James and started to pinch his cheeks as though his friend were a small child.

"It's so adorable you think you can lie to my face like that, Prongs, it REALLY is." Sirius cooed, before releasing James and addressing all his friends. "I appreciate the gesture, Mates, I honestly do, but I'm the one being punished here. You're not abandoning me or anything of the like so go have fun in a clear conscience all of you."

"We really don't mind Sirius." Remus insisted.

"Oh I know that, Moony, but I do. You and James go stroll about with your pretty girlfriends while Wormtail hits on everything single and otherwise in my stead." Sirius raised his eyebrow to Peter. "Think you can manage that? I'm a tough act to follow."

"I'll remember everything you taught me." Peter nodded dramatically.

"And keep in mind a stiff slap across the face isn't a rejection, merely a clue to rethink your strategy." Sirius reminded.

"Perhaps we should go before Peter received anymore sound advice." Remus grinned.

"I'm serious about the Quidditch though." James assured Sirius. "If you're interested, I'll get word out to the rest of the team and applicants that there's going to be a practice after Hogsmeade."

"You're the captain unless you want me to start running the team for you." Sirius said casually, but James could tell Sirius would really appreciate the gesture.

"We'll do that then." James decided with a grin as he and the rest of their roommates made their ways to breakfast.

As soon as they reached Hogsmeade with the rest of their school, it seemed that the 6th Year Gryffindors were splintering off to amuse themselves for a bit. Peter, Gwen, and Millicent headed off to Zonko's to see what was new on the shelves while Cassidy darted off to the Quidditch supply shop in town to see about a new pair of boots since hers were little more than foot-covers at this point. Remus and Arabella strolled down towards Honeydukes giving off the impression that they wanted to be alone for a while, leaving Lily and James on their own by default.

"We'll meet up with them all at the Three Broomsticks later." James figured casually. "That's how it always seems to work out anyway."

Meandering along High Street while holding hands, Lily and James casually kept an eye on things around them while holding up their own conversation.

"I heard you were planning to call a practice after we get back to the school." Lily commented, causing James to nod.

"Yeah, we've got Ravenclaw to start thinking about and they're always wicked brilliant in their strategies." James's tone made it hard to tell if he was concerned or impressed by this.

"You've come up with a few good ones." Lily observed supportively.

"I'm nothing if not wily." James grinned deviously before throwing his arm around Lily's shoulders. "About the only way I could land a proper girl like you."

"You make it out to sound like you had to engineer some grand plot just to get me to date you." Lily laughed.

"Weren't you there?" James teased. "I was going out of my skull trying to sabotage you and Sirius getting together for a bit because I didn't want you taking my best friend from me then I spent the rest of the time trying to keep anyone from stealing you away!"

"You were working against Sirius because you thought I would come between you two? Why?" Lily gaped.

"Oh, I'm going to regret this conversation." James laughed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Keep in mind this was when I only casually knew you. We had something of a boys' club going, no one was seeing anyone seriously or anything and I thought if Sirius ended up with you it would ruin everything. Part because he'd be hanging about you all the time and part because I thought you'd be a pain as a Prefect. You're not by the way. Still I guess I was just jealous at the thought of Sirius not being my best mate like he's always been."

"That's sweet in a twisted, evil kind of way." Lily chuckled. "What was your grand scheme?"

"Well, Sirius was my mate and I didn't want to openly act against him and I had nothing against you so I didn't want to hurt or embarrass you, never mind that happened regardless of my intent." James mused. "So I figured I'd just make you acutely aware of how much of a juvenile, obnoxious, flirty prat Sirius was and figured that would drive you off just fine."

"It's funny how I thought you were the bigger git of the two for the longest time." Lily pointed out with amusement.

"Positively hilarious." James sarcastically replied. "I was beside myself with laugher when I realized I had fallen for you and proceeded to cut myself off at the knees at every turn I attempted in winning you over."

"Well, lucky for you that you had good intentions at heart otherwise karma would probably still be seeing fit to mucking things up for you." Lily guessed.

"Yeah, I'm glad things seemed to work out for the best." James nodded contently. "Sirius seems fine and free like always, Remus and Arabella have each other and Peter's not complaining about much of anything so I reckon it's all's well that end's well."

"Provided you defeat Ravenclaw?" Lily questioned.

"Oh we'll win!" James insisted cockily. "I can take us a long way with a few brilliant tricks up my robe sleeve and with any holes in my plans I can rely on the team to improvise our way to victory. I think Cassidy proved that to us with Hufflepuff!"

"Yes, that was very impressive." Lily kept her smile on her face and felt a little sour she hadn't bothered to become a decent player at Quidditch.

"I reckon Cassidy will be a pro player after Hogwarts." James wagered. "She's got the skill and the dedication for it."

"What about you? You're really good as a Captain and an excellent Chaser." Lily protested.

"Play professional Quidditich?" James thought this over. "I might have a shot. You'd want to be seen about with a jock?"

"You're not just a jock." Lily huffed.

"Well I wouldn't be putting much else of my talents to use." James noted. "My family line would rise from the dead if they found out their last member was content to taking Bludgers to the head as a life's work. No, I think I'll be an Auror, maybe work my way up through the ministry that way."

"I think you should just do whatever you want, not what you think your family name demands." Lily advised.

"I know. I want to be an Auror, of course I wouldn't mind being the Minister of Magic." James confided with a grin.

"The Minister of Magic? Not ambitious in the least." Lily joked, wondering if James could actually pull off being the most politically influential Wizard in Britain.

"Well, that's a few lucky breaks and a long ways off." James admitted. "Of course, if I do manage to pull it off, you want to be the power behind the throne?"

"Mrs. Minister of Magic?" Lily laughed over the idea. It seemed positively mad to think a Muggle-born witch could go so far in the Wizarding world as to end up with one of its most important people.

"Nice ring to it." James approved smirking.

"You have a funny manner of proposing to a girl." Lily teased.

"We don't have to get married if that's what's bothering you." James ran with the joke. "You could be the woman I live in sin with if you fancy that better. Since I'd plan on being a capable Minister and an honest politician, I would need something scandalous for my career keep things interesting."

"Well, I think a Muggle-Born wife would manage more than enough uproar." Lily decided.

"One of the first things I'd change." James assured.

It was a funny sort of moment that followed after their conversation with James and Lily smiling at one another. It was mad to be talking about marrying someone after dating them for only two months. They had no idea if they'd be successful in lasting as a couple any more than they did about James's political prospects.

Still, talking about being together in the future, changing the Wizarding World as a team was reassuring in a way both Lily and James could genuinely appreciate.

Even if it was meant only in jest.

"So, what should we do now?" James questioned.

"We could head to Honeydukes." Lily suggested.

"Actually I was still on whether or not we should get married for the sake of my political career but if you're adamant about living in the now . . ." James finished joking. "But, seriously, we can do that."

Catching sight of a group of younger year Slytherins and Hufflepuffs in the midst of what appeared to be a heated exchanged, Lily reluctantly pulled herself out from under James's arm with a sigh.

"Actually I have to go be a Prefect at the moment." Lily reported.

James took note of the scene unfolding as well.

"Want me to go break it up?" James offered.

Lily scowled at this.

"I think I can handle things without the Minister of Magic stepping in." Lily rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"How about I meet you at the Quidditch shop then?" James relented, swallowing quite a bit of his chivalrous pride.

"That would be great." Lily kissed James on the cheek before walking off in opposite directions.

Although he hadn't asked him to, James had left Sirius with his Invisibility Cloak in case he wanted to sneak out to Hogsmeade regardless of McGonagall's restrictions. Sirius had no intention of disobeying the Head of his House like this since she had been pretty lenient about enforcing his punishment most of the time by letting him attend the Quidditch games, House parties, and school socials like he had been doing in the past few weeks. Even now, though she wouldn't allow him to go to Hogsmeade, Professor McGonagall lifted his confinement to the dormitories for the afternoon to stroll about the castle and grounds. Granted, it's not like there would be a whole lot of people aside from 1st and 2nd Years to socialize with but it was a thoughtful gesture all the same.

After everyone was off for Hogsmeade, Sirius breezed through his homework for the weekend since there was no one present to distract him (or, more appropriately, for him to distract) and committed himself to a long walk around the castle and ground which were relatively empty. Exceptionally extroverted people like Sirius Black found feelings of loneliness to creep upon them faster and harder than others.

For a while, Sirius had begun to strike up conversations with the people in the paintings until some daft knight grated on his patience with ramblings of quests and calling him a "scurvy cur" no matter how many times he insisted on being addressed as "Sirius". Nearly Headless Nick was good enough to keep him company for a bit before he had to leave to send out his request to join the Headless Hunt for that year. Peeves found him on the second floor near the Charms classroom not long after that, much to Sirius's disappointment.

"My, my, what have we here?" Peeves gleefully bobbed around Sirius. "The seriously cracked, Sirius Black out for a stroll without his scruffy Potter in toe?"

"Bugger off." Sirius suggested with a sigh, in no mood for Peeves's usual game of mad-libs.

"Why so cross?" Peeves demanded with a smile that told he was going to probably answer his own question. "Fair-weather friends leave you out in the cold?"

"I'm fine thank you." Sirius insisted as he walked off. To his disappointment, Peeves followed along.

"A popular lad like you content to be on your own? You speak as though I died yesterday!" Peeves cackled manically, amused with himself. "I think the boisterous blabbing Black could use a bit of attention that a cranky, codger caretaker would be happy to provide."

Before Sirius could even open him mouth to this, the obnoxious poltergeist started bounding off the walls of the hall, smashing in mirrors and pictures in spite of their protests and tipped over a vase and suit of armor for good measure. Surrounded in clattering noise and sudden disarray, Peeves floated through the floor laughing as Sirius went pale.

Not even willing to attempt explaining things to Filch, Sirius turned to the nearest painting with an apologetic look.

"I hope you'll tell Filch what really happened once he gets here?" Sirius asked the young girl who had been gather flowers as she examined her splintered frame with a distraught look.

"Oh you can count on that!" The girl assured in a huff. Sirius bowed quickly and dashed up the nearest flight of stairs he could find.

After placing enough distance between himself and Peeves's rampage, Sirius found himself in one of the upper towers of the castle. He was pretty sure that Divinations was taught up there, but since he had never attended a class on the subject he wasn't entirely sure and wished he had thought to bring the Marauder's Map with him as a reference. Nosing around the corridors rooms, Sirius happened upon a conservatory that was evidently located in that wing if Divinations was not. It had been so long since his first and last visit there two years ago that he had forgotten it was there at all.

Stepping into the room occupied only by various musical instruments, Sirius wagered this was where they stored any equipment they brought out to serenade dances and celebrations. A grand piano in the center of the room drew Sirius's eye and a smile as he went over to inspect it. Sirius uncovered the keys and tapped a few of them, listening to see if it was tuned.

Satisfied with the sound, Sirius sat himself in front of the piano, flexed out his hands and warmed up with Bach's Fugue in G minor. He smiled as he played, thinking of sister, Aurora as he worked the keys.

She had taught him to play when he was about six one summer, a request from their parents to give him a hobby that didn't require them to purchase new furniture or clean something out of his other sister, Acontiae's hair. Aurora caught Sirius's attention with the piano as it allowed him to make loud noise and get praise for it, a very attractive arrangement for an active young boy. He played with her for hours almost every day and found he had an ear for it.

It had disappointed Sirius greatly when she returned to school since he would miss playing with her and was tempted on giving up all together until their Father sat with him to play. He had been the one to initially teach Aurora and neither Celestine nor Acontiae had much an interest for music so Empyrean Black was more than happy to spend positive, quality time with his son on something they could both enjoy. They practiced, upon Sirius's insisting, all of Aurora's favorite songs.

He knew them by heart now.

Absorbed in memory and melody, Sirius didn't even take notice of the presence in the doorway.

"You know what I did with my Valentine's day?" Florence Copia asked rhetorically as she entered the conservatory.

Sirius couldn't hide his surprise at seeing her there. No longer feeling particularly inspired by Bach at the moment, Sirius switched over to a darker, more somber piece, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Yet another melody he knew reflexively, Sirius could afford to have his eyes follow Florence as she circled the room around to him, running her fingers across the polished surfaced of the instruments she passed in a coy manner.

Florence didn't have much height to her but filled out appealingly in most other places. Her face was round and pretty with black curls bobbing around as a frame for it. She reminded Sirius of painted dolls Celestine liked to keep.

Beautiful, expensive looking, and frail.

But mostly just hollow where their heart should be and empty in the head.

"I read this Muggle play by a man named Shakespeare." Florence answered her own question as she strolled casually. "It was a story about two people from rival Houses who meet at a party and fall in love in spite of all the conflict inherent of their situation and go on to have an affair under the noses of all their friends and family."

"I read it." Sirius reported, still playing. "They killed themselves in the end for no good reason if I recall."

"I suppose that sort of thing is romantic to Muggles." Florence shrugged as she examined the strings of a double base.

"I suppose." Sirius repeated unenthusiastically.

"Anyway, I thought of us." Florence finished as she approached Sirius and the piano. "I've been feeling nostalgic lately. Maybe it's just the season."

"I don't know why you would." Sirius countered. "If memory serves, we were neither in love nor are we presently dead by our own hands. Of course if you care to remedy the situation, go on ahead, I'll be right along."

"Catch you on a bad day, Sirius?" Florence raised her eyebrow.

"My days typically drift from 'fine' when you take to discussing matters of the heart with me, Florence." Sirius commented. "It's my fault really. I simply can't get past the irony of you not possessing one."

"That was harsh." Florence chided with a frown.

"Those glaring truths can be." Sirius agreed.

"Do I get to throw stones too?" Florence inquired.

"If you care to." Sirius relented.

"I didn't come here to fight." Florence declined. "I heard you playing from the hall; I always thought this was one of your more charming, lesser known talents. I really just wanted to talk."

"About us." Sirius nodded, keeping up with the conversation.

"Don't you ever think about me sometimes, Sirius?" Florence asked smoothly as she watched his hands move purposefully over the keys.

This question provoked Sirius to smile and chuckle to himself as the played.

"Yes, sometimes." Sirius admitted. Florence had only just begun to smile herself when Sirius added. "And then I wake up in a cold sweat and my friends want to know why I'm screaming so very loud."

"It wasn't that bad." Florence protested unappreciatively.

"Well, it wasn't that good either." Sirius replied.

"I don't recall you complaining." Florence glared. "And I certainly didn't DRAG you off behind the greenhouse and FORCE you to kiss me, now did I? And that's just to name ONE time and ONE place, mind you."

Sirius continued to play without missing a note, but he was beginning to strike the keys harder now as his expression lost its amusement.

"THAT wasn't the part I had a problem with." Sirius corrected. He bitterly thought back to that winter during their 4th Year and resented Florence for making him do so after all the effort he traditionally invested in forgetting about it.

"You lied to me, Florence."

"That's not really fair." Florence decided. "The worst you have me on is misleading you."

"Still, I didn't need that and I don't think I deserved it either." Sirius stated his case. "I know we weren't formally involved or anything of the like, however a certain amount of loyalty . . . certain amount of HONESTY is something I expect of any girl I'm with. I don't like not knowing where I stand in a relationship."

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I preferred the time I spent with you?" Florence questioned as she moved to brush Sirius's bangs out of his face. Sirius jerked his head away from her gesture and swatted her hand away with the nearest one of his own. The melody dropped slightly as he did this.

"No. It wouldn't. I don't need your critiques and comparisons." Sirius informed her curtly as he stopped playing in the middle of the piece. "I also don't need to be performing for you either: musically or otherwise."

Florence cocked her head slightly to the side as she watched Sirius Black without his usual carefree air. It was always so odd to see the class clown become so suddenly somber and humorless.

"I didn't know, at the time, it would have even bothered you all that much." Florence confessed. "I really don't know why it does even now."

Slamming the cover shut over the keys, Sirius set his icy blue eyes on the Slytherin girl.

"Guess." Sirius urged through his teeth as he stormed out of the conservatory.

As was a usual habit of Winifred Wilkes, she chose to keep her cousin, Severus, company as they patrolled the streets of Hogsmeade, unblinking and aloof.

"I thought you'd like to know that Mary's plotting against Evans." Winifred stated ambivalently as she inspected her cloak for lint.

"Tudor's always plotting against Evans." Severus replied coolly. "Any particular reason this time about or simply the usual issues of inadequacy Mary grapples with?"

"She's still bitter about being bathed in leeches during the Potions brawl without touching a single red hair on Evans's head." Winifred informed. "It doesn't help that Black belittled her and Aaron by using Evans and Potter as a point of comparison."

"Black has a habit of inviting misfortune onto the heads of those around him rather than his own." Severus scowled before turning to his cousin. "Why you're telling me this?"

"I thought Evans was your pet project." Winifred shrugged.

"She has Potter to watch her back." Severus reported dryly.

"Amongst other things." Winifred added, earning her a distasteful look from Severus.

"You socialize with that loosely moral Copia too much." Severus chided.

"What would you know about Florence's _lose morals_?" Winifred prompted quizzically.

Severus's black eyes met Winifred's own dark set.

"Enough to say it's unbecoming to emulate her." Severus advised vaguely.

Winifred appeared to accept this answer without further inquiry.

"Do I strike you as the sort to walk in anyone's shadow?" Winifred asked possibly in a rhetorical manner.

"Other than my own?" Severus attempted to clarify.

"Ah, but that's a conscious choice on my part." Winifred grinned, undaunted by the implications.

"Regardless, you should start standing on your own two feet without my supervision." Severus urged.

"I stand fine on my own." Winifred assured before nodding to the Post Office next to them. "Now why don't you go mail that letter you didn't think I noticed in your robes and I'll walk about well and unattended."

Severus's eyes narrowed on Winifred and her reference to his reply to Aurora Black. Offering a small wave, Winifred strolled in the opposite direction. She didn't lower he hand as she crossed paths with Serpen Nott who was too engrossed in his conversation with Regius Avery to notice Severus's or her own presence until Winifred grasped a hold on his brown ponytail and gave it a sharp, painful tug. Hollering out in pain and shock at Winifred's juvenile attack, Nott glared at he walking off while rubbing the back of his head. Avery followed his gaze with a more amused than sympathetic expression.

"What did you do to her?" Avery demanded with a toss of his blonde hair.

"Me? Wilkes has been out to get ME for a bloody month!" Nott whined as he readjusted his hair. "That daft bitch doesn't need a reason to be nasty to me!"

"I'm sure Winifred has her motives for antagonizing you, Nott. Probably akin to the one's you've provided for me."

Turning Nott found a particularly cross looking Severus staring down at him. Avery had the sense to step off to the side and leave Nott to sort out his own loud-mouthed affairs with the Prefect and his cousin.

"You're going to hex me, aren't you?" Nott guessed.

"Most likely, yes." Severus nodded grimly.

What was it about Slytherin that made them so condescending no matter the age?

Lily attempted to be nice about whatever the disagreement was and not point fingers at any one side. Simply requesting they make their ways off in opposite directions and do what they can not to cross one another's paths, Lily found the Hufflepuff children to be accommodating and the Slytherin slightly less so. She could have honestly wrung the neck of that 3rd Year Slytherin after her cocky comment of "Anything for our Prefect's girlfriend", but managed to retrain herself otherwise as she decided the important thing was they had listened to her.

Besides, it was probably older girls like Mary Tudor who was grooming the younger ones to be so particularly unpleasant.

Crisis adverted; Lily made her way over to the Qudditch supply shop where she had promised to meet up with James. As a couple other Hogwarts students examining their purchases exited the store in a clatter of the doors chimes, Lily overheard the distinct voices of James and Cassidy talking in low and urgent tones just near the door.

Lily knew it would be completely horrible of her to eavesdrop on their conversation, but that didn't stop her from pressing her back up against the wall near the entrance and stick her foot out to catch and prop the door open just enough for her to hear their conversation. Since she couldn't see them from where she was, Lily doubted there was much a chance of them spotting her either.

"I just wished you would have mentioned it to me." James spoke. "I'm not saying you can't talk about it, but I'd like to have my note cards in order before questions start getting asked of me."

"Yer not the one whose reputation would be ruined by all this." Cassidy replied. "If anything, it might raise the suave Mr. Potter's popularity a bit."

"Please, that's the LAST thing I care about and you know it." James sounded exasperated. "I'm worried about you and I'm worried about Lily."

Lily blushed slightly at the mention of her name and the sudden acquisition of James's bad habits regarding personal privacy.

"Why do ye think she'd care?" Cassidy demanded defensively.

Lily wasn't certain whether she was agitated because she was taking this as slander against Lily or if she was sincerely concerned Lily might be affected by whatever it was they were talking about.

"She probably wouldn't if one of us explained it to her." James guessed. "Lily's not the type who'd judge someone over such an, er, intimate detail of their life."

_Intimate detail? _

"At least yer hoping that's the case." Cassidy sighed.

"You don't honestly think she'd stop speaking to either of us over something like this?" James's tone was one of disbelief. "Come on, this is Lily Evans. The most compassionate, understanding, accepting witch on the planet. If she can overlook so many of Snape's nasty character flaws to get along with him, I very much doubt she's going to give either of us a second glance on this."

"Yeah, but she's also the proper, respectable sort of girl too." Cassidy observed. "Look, I'm a big admirer of Lily and think yer probably right about her but some people turn their nose up to this sort of situation. Wizards still get riled over it and who even knows how the Muggles feel on the topic. We just don't know where Lily's morals begin and end on this."

"Well, I can say that I don't reckon Lily would look at you any different, Cassidy." James replied sympathetically.

"I doubt it too." Cassidy agreed. "So ye gonna tell her?"

"Once it becomes an issue, but not before." James exhaled audibly. "I find myself in possession of too many secrets sometimes Cass, and they're not always mine."

"Fer what its worth, Potter, yer the only guy whose always done right by me." The smile could be heard in Cassidy's voice.

"That means a lot, Cassidy." James replied sincerely.

"Go on then, ye prat." Cassidy urged teasingly. "Quit talking with yer ex and start waltzing about with yer love."

"Well, I'll see you at practice then tonight." James promised as he waved goodbye to Cassidy as he started toward the exit.

Uncertain of what to do with herself since she wasn't accustom to pretending she wasn't listening to the conversations of others, Lily put forth her best effort not to look guilty about something and stepped into the store, near colliding with James.

"There you are!" James said brightly as he took her hands. "Handle everything alright?"

"No problems here." Lily smiled at James, though it felt like a nervous one.

Hovering in the doorway, James looked down at her.

"Well what do you want to do now?" James opened himself off to suggestions.

"Um," Lily struggled for one to give him. "We could just follow along High Street towards the mountain for a bit. The weather's nice for a walk."

"Sounds grand." James agreed as he put his arm around Lily and headed off as he had indicated.

In Hogsmeade there were numerous spots for young couples to visit. Sharing a cozy table in the corner of the Three Broomsticks was always popular as well as feeding one another fresh made chocolate from the Honeydukes Sweetshop. Zonko's joke shop was always a popular source of amusement and hiking to the top of the mounting at the end of High Street offered a grand view of the burg below.

The Shrieking Shack was not a typical choice for a nice boy to bring a nice girl to.

Of course Remus Lupin did such in clear conscience since she didn't find all that much typical about either himself or Arabella.

Though he still felt the two of them were very nice.

Seated on the rotting floor of the dusty first story, Arabella and Remus had a sack full of Honeydukes sweets between them that they periodically dipped into whenever they found their mouths empty. Arabella was working an orb of hard candy around her mouth with her tongue while Remus invested himself in whatever chocolate he could find while rummaging.

Remus had spent the greater portion of his and Arabella's valentine's evening explaining his lycanthropy in detail to her. Arabella had asked a few questions here or there, but listened mostly in awe. Remus understood how someone could find the tale of his life amazing. What he couldn't understand was how someone would still want to speak with him after hearing it.

Then there was Arabella Figg.

Remus questioned her sanity a bit more now than ever.

Still, Arabella hadn't rejected him and behaved completely normal around him, save for the occasional curiosity or question about his curse. Remus never took any offense to this, though, since she never meant anything more by it than just trying to understand him better. That's probably why she had had an interest in seeing the Shirking Shack after he explained it was where he spent nights under the full moon. He truly believed the introduction of Arabella Figg was one of the fleeting bits of good luck to pass into his life ever since he'd become a werewolf.

It's so hard not to completely love someone who can find out the worst thing about then look you in the eyes, smile, and mean it.

"So there are no ghosts in here at all?" Arabella glanced around casually. She almost sounded a bit disappointed by this. "I've been terrified of this place for years, there had better be ghosts."

"None that I've found, though I reckon I would have chased the lot of them out if there were." Remus informed while being genuinely amused.

"Bugger, now I feel like a dizzy cow." Arabella grumbled. "It sounds completely mad to me that you're the scariest thing in this place."

Remus just smiled.

"I just don't understand how someone could be afraid of you." Arabella shook her head as she popped another piece of candy in her mouth, muffling her speech. "Or any werewolves for that matter. I mean, they're still human aren't they? How can any self-respecting wizard treat them like monsters?"

"Because most are." Remus rationalized. "There's a lot of stigma that comes with being what I am, some from ignorance or blind fear with sheer bigotry rounding out the rest. A lot of people don't cope with it as well as I do and just give up on trying to be human about it."

"Bollocks to that!" Arabella snorted in appalled tone. "Bloody Hell! Most people, if they ever get bit at all, are adults when it happens, you've had to deal with this practically your entire life! What excuse could they possibly have?"

"Maybe it's because this has ALWAYS served as normal for me." Remus shrugged. "The only life I really remember is one as a werewolf, I imagine that suddenly becoming one after a lifetime of Ministry-approved normalcy would be quite a shock. I can't pretend that I'd be as adjusted to the whole thing as I am now if I had been no different from any other young Wizard only to find myself with lycanthropy one night."

"I suppose I didn't think of it like that." Arabella mumbled in an embarrassed voice. Remus just smiled at her.

"No it's alright." Remus assured. "It's pretty hard to understand at face value unless you're in my position."

"How do you do that?" Arabella marveled.

"Pardon?" Remus sought out more chocolate.

"Just be fine with it all." Arabella stated. "I never hear you feeling sorry for yourself; you're traditionally nice to everyone even though half of them would probably stop speaking to you like the pack of prats they are if they found out about your condition, and you almost never get riled about a single thing."

"I reckon I just get all my rage out over the full moon so there's not much left afterwards." Remus mused. "Primal passion and poor impulse control has its cathartic merit."

"Passion and action on impulse sounds like it might have some fun to it." Arabella's teased with a flirty grin.

"Possibly, but not under those circumstances." Remus smirked and shook his head as he finished his chocolate.

"What would you have done if you hadn't been accepted to Hogwarts?" Arabella switched back to making serious conversation.

"My parents would have gotten the Ministry's approval to home school me." Remus replied. "They had been doing it before then anyway and we had pretty much anticipated that I wouldn't be accepted anywhere for my formal education. I was fine with it, wouldn't be the high-quality education I'm fortunate to have now but I'd manage some sort of equivalency in becoming a full Wizard. When I got my enrollment letter from Hogwarts, we thought there was a mistake and my parents explained my situation to Professor Dumbledore since they figured he simply didn't know but he did and was still willing to take me on."

"Well, I'm glad you were accepted here." Arabella smiled.

"Me too." Remus smiled back. Leaning over the sack of sweets, Remus moved to kiss his girlfriend until she stifled a laugh. Pulling back quizzically, Arabella was grinning madly.

"You sure know how to set the mood, Remus." Arabella teased as she gestured to their creepy love nest. Remus blushed a bit as he grew suddenly awkward.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry – " Remus quickly apologized for his improper behavior. Arabella rolled her eyes and decided to lead in instead if he was going to be such a wanker about it. Meeting her mouth against his, Arabella and Remus shared their sweetest kiss in the most literal of senses.

Pulling away, Arabella brushed Remus's gray dusted bangs from his eyes.

"You're so gullible, Remus."

"I get that a bit."

Winifred deposited the stray hairs she had wrenched from Nott's head into a clean handkerchief and strolled Hogsmeade feeling particularly satisfied with herself at Nott's anguish.

Existing and impending.

She had been gracious enough to offer him the chance to apologize after those comments about her and Severus back on Valentine's Day. Nott would probably live longer and in far less pain if he didn't cast stones at people who could throw a with truer and harder aim. Now anything that happened to him was his own fault, not hers. After all, it wasn't like she was the one who ordered up a fresh batch of just deserts for Nott.

Winifred just planned to force-feed them to him.

Out of the corner of her dark eye. Winifred spied Walden Macnair standing off in an alleyway between two buildings. Curious about his presence, Winifred detoured herself off the road through Hogsmeade and approached her Housemate. If Winifred had to guess, she'd assume Macnair had found some stray animal to terrorize. As she entered the alley, Winifred saw it was the Gryffindors Gwen McGinnis and Millicent Meeks who were being blocked from leaving.

A stray would stand a better chance.

Macnair glanced over his shoulder nonchalantly at her, undaunted by her unanticipated arrival.

"Something I can help you with, Winifred?" Macnair demanded.

Winifred really didn't need to ask but she felt she might as well anyway.

"What are you doing?"

"Just chatting it up with a couple single girls." Macnair reported. Winifred could hear the smile in his voice.

Macnair was the type of degenerate who liked to torture animals. Not because it served any purpose or necessity, but just because he had the power to do it. This wasn't limited to animals; it was anything smaller, more vulnerable than himself. Macnair validated his esteem by bullying the weak. Winifred suspected he was capable of more than tormenting girls like McGinnis and Meeks, more sadistic games of domination, if he didn't have to worry about Aaron Lestrange, Mary Tudor, and Severus. All three possessed some variant of integrity that despised that sort of thing.

Winifred was beyond disgusted presently.

"Go 'chat' with some different girls." Winifred coldly suggested.

"Sod off, Wilkes." Macnair order in a bored tone.

She felt her fingertips graze across her wand. Winifred knew she could make Macnair back down without probably raising it. If she didn't do it herself, she'd simply drop either Severus or Heilsing's name to scare him off.

Of course, Winifred liked to think she wasn't her scariest when hiding behind her cousin.

"Did you know Hogwarts school issued uniforms have a fireproofing charm cast on them as a precaution?" Winifred knew there wasn't anything physically intimidating about manicured fingernails and expensive earrings, but she always had creepy and cold-blooded to play off of.

"What?" Macnair questioned irritably at the girl's bizarre question. He turned away from McGinnis and Meeks to stare hard at Winifred.

"I was saying everything issued through the school is flame retardant." Winifred repeated herself. "Thing is, Hogwarts doesn't bother to issue shoes with the uniforms. Not much of a fuss raised over footwear so long as it isn't open toe and is black."

"Where you going with this?" Macnair hissed, fed up with Winifred's babble.

"I'm just saying I know fashion and product. Those are knock-off dragon-hide dress shoes on your feet at the moment. The scale pattern is supposed to be on an upward diagonal right not left but they're indistinguishable otherwise." Winifred informed as she pointed at them. Macnair inspected his footwear quizzically.

Meeks and McGinnis were eyeing her strangely, evidently wondering if they just traded out assault for insanity. Winifred decided to arrive at her point.

"See, while Norwegian dragon-hide IS fireproof, that Black Asp imitation IS NOT. Neither is that oily polish you use to shine them up every morning, you can tell by the pungent odor that is similar to lamp oil." Winifred noted. "Even a child's charm like Bluebell Flames would be enough to instantaneously ignite your shoe and have its molten material churning into every pour of the flesh under it."

Even a dense prat like Macnair could catch on to a threat like that.

"You wouldn't dare." Macnair challenged, watching Winifred's hands for her wand.

"No, I wouldn't." Winifred agreed as she smiled at Macnair. "But Meeks and McGinnis look like they might."

Macnair turned to see the Gryffindor girls had their wand points aimed at his feet. Glancing between the poised Meeks and McGinnis and the unmoving Winifred, Macnair didn't appear all that tempted to see if Winifred was bluffing. Scowling while making feral noises, Macnair stormed past Winifred and out of the alley, nearly colliding with Cassidy Kinkade who was probably looking for the two girls.

Winifred watched for Kinkade's move.

"What are YOU looking at?" Macnair barked at the tall, dark complexioned girl.

"That brick wall there." Kinkade replied shortly, crossing her arms. "Then something beastly and dumb dragged its knuckles over here to block my view."

Winifred was impressed with Kinkade's retort. She was also impressed with Macnair's restraint in walking off instead of throwing a punch at Kinkade. Stepping into the alley, Kinkade started to eye Winifred.

"What are ye doing here?" Kinkade demanded.

"Offering fashion tips." McGinnis interjected as she returned her wand to her robes. Kinkade raised an eyebrow as she turned to Meeks.

"Mr. Macnair was making his presence. . . well, imposing." Meeks explained. "Miss Wilkes persuaded him to leave."

"Why did ye do that?" Kinkade turned back to Winifred, the girl's tone was more confused now than the accusing one she had started out with.

Winifred smiled and shrugged before she walked back out onto the streets of Hogsmeade without saying another word.

"Well, thanks, I guess." Kinkade muttered uncertainly behind her before turning back to McGinnis and Meeks. "What the bloody hell are the pair of ye doing in an alley by yerselves anyway! I thought Pettigrew was with ye."

"Peter forgot his coin pouch at the counter in Zonko's and went back for it." McGinnis explained.

"Good, I'll bludgeon him with it!" Kinkade promised crossly.

"Oh, come on Cass!" McGinnis whined. "It's not like he put Macnair up to it!"

"Yes, really, we're fine Cassidy." Meeks insisted. "Let's just go meet up with Peter."

Winifred couldn't help but notice how different Gryffindor truly was from Slytherin at that moment. Kinkade was worried about the other girls, not disappointed or inconvenienced as girls in her House would be in a similar situation. Kinkade had actually THANKED her for stepping in where a Slytherin would have told them to bugger off and mind their own affairs.

So this was the difference between friendship and companionship.

Winifred considered investing deeper thought into this until she decided to go back to her plotting against Nott.

On the outskirts of Hogsmeades, Lily and James leaned against a rock with the afternoon sun pouring over them. Although spring was still a month off, the air was warmer than it had been all winter making for a pleasant, perfect day to be out of the castle. Lazily leaning into one another while holding hands bother Lily and James relished in the on the perfect moments life had so few of.

"Did you hear that Arabella knows about Remus now?" Lily asked James, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Yeah, I'm glad she figured it out for herself." James nodded. "I didn't want to break Remus's confidence but I hated Arabella not knowing. Probably best it worked itself out like this. You remember her on Valentine's, Remus will always know that she knew he was a werewolf and still was mad about him regardless."

"They're wonderful together." Lily praised. Seeing an opening to hint at his relationship with Cassidy and all its secrecy Lily added.

"It's unfortunate that Remus felt he had to hide something like that from Arabella. He should have just trusted that if Arabella really loved him that she could cope with any secret he had, no matter how bad he thought. It's impossible to know for sure how someone will react unless you ACTUALLY give them the chance to react to it."

James sighed, leaning against the rock while closing his eyes. Lily noticed he was trying to keep his expression blank but the slight flicker of conflicted thoughts crossed his face. Gently he started to stroke her long hair as he hugged her against him with his other arm.

"Well it all had less to do with her as it did with him." James explained, leaving Lily to wonder if he was being literal or speaking in metaphors. "I don't think it was so much that he didn't trust her as it was he was still trying to figure it all out for himself. Some people need more time than others to sort out their feelings about the event of their life."

Lily sighed to herself. Wanted to keep harping on the subject until James confessed something to her. Deciding it was too perfect of a day to waste pumping her boyfriend for information; Lily figured she could always ask later when they had gotten back to that school.

"Pity Sirius couldn't be here." Lily commented.

"Yeah, pity he couldn't be perched on this rock behind us couching me on how to unhook your bra with one hand and offering to show me how." James snorted a laugh.

Lily had to join James in his chuckle over something so typically Sirius.

"He is horrible, isn't he?" Lily agreed with a smile. "Has he ever even had a serious girlfriend?"

"A few steadies here or there." James recalled. "Either the novelty wore off for him or Sirius just wore on them. Sirius needs someone to be fascinated by and a girl needs the patience of a saint to survive Sirius. I imagine he'll outgrow most of it eventually, just probably not anytime soon."

"So he's never even come close?" Lily questioned.

"Well, the most involved relationship he had I didn't much care for." James's voice had a slightly bitter note to it.

"Why?" Lily was curious now as she peered up at James.

"Well. . ." James seemed to be mulling over whether he should tell Lily or not. Lily decided she would kill James if he started keeping any more secrets from her. "I'll tell you, but it's not really public domain. Aside from Remus's condition, this is one of the better kept secrets in Hogwarts."

"Alright." Lily agreed as she waited attentively for James to go on.

"In our 4th Year, over Winter Holiday, there wasn't a Yule Ball to tempt people with that year so most of the school went home and there were only maybe a dozen of us at most staying over. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and myself were the only Gryffindors at Hogwarts for Christmas." James began. "Well Florence Copia was around too. Her and Sirius would flirt a bit here or there because that's just what they do. I didn't think anything of it until I heard a 6th Year Ravenclaw, Bertha Jorkins, talking about Sirius kissing Florence behind the Herbology Greenhouses."

"I heard that when I got back to school." Lily followed along. "I thought Bertha was just embellishing things like she tended to, especially considering how much Sirius seems to hate Slytherins and it's not like he and Florence even seemed to speak to one another all that much."

"Well there's a reason for that." James went on grimly. "Sirius hexed Bertha for her big, blabbing mouth so word wouldn't get around, gave her a stutter if I recall for a bit. Still, it ended up getting back to Snape."

Lily raised her eyebrow to this.

"Why would Severus Snape care if – " Lily paused halfway through her sentence. "You don't mean Florence and Severus were seeing one another?"

"The rest of this story is mostly logical guesses since none of the three parties involved care to discuss it but this is how I understand things, for whatever that's worth." James cautioned Lily on how seriously to take his word on the matter.

"So YOU think something was going on with Florence and Severus?" Lily pressed, curious to see what James had deduced.

"If I had to wager, I'd say yes. Sirius said something to the effect during a very vivid rant, but I don't know how much of it is credible since he was angry and tends to blame Snape for things whether or not he's got a part in it." James nodded. "The way I figure, Florence was seeing Snape not long before break but started messing around behind his back with Sirius over holiday. I'm not sure why she did it, probably her version of a very cruel joke."

"That's horrible!" Lily scowled at the thought before a look of pity fell over her face. "No wonder Sirius and Severus hate one another so much. Did Sirius know?"

"Judging from his reaction to the whole situation, I'd say no." James informed. "Besides, I don't think Sirius would try to get at Snape like that. It's really low to try and steal someone's girlfriend, even if you don't like them. No, this didn't help matters much between them though because I think Snape thought Sirius did it on purpose and they were well on their way to hating one another irreparably anyway at this point."

"I never saw Severus Snape going with someone like Florence Copia." Lily confessed, not seeing the appeal for either.

"I wouldn't have figured it either." James admitted. "But Copia likes to run with those intellectual crowds, probably because she's not all that bright herself, pardon me for saying. She's usually off with some Ravenclaw boy. I reckon it's probably a self-esteem issue. Like if some smart chap likes her then that makes her smart too. Probably why she liked Snape since he's pretty sharp when he's not being a git and it's probably why she went after Sirius, he's a git but he's brilliant."

"But why would Severus be interested in her?" Lily failed to make the connection. She had never really thought Severus was all that interested in anyone to be friends with, let alone to date. And Florence Copia had little to offer aside from a suggestive reputation and a pretty face. Still, it gave Lily an idea of why he was always so guarded around her, suspecting she might be another Florence Copia.

"I don't know Florence all that well, but apparently she's fairly charming when she tries to be. Doesn't hurt that she's attractive and flirty." James started guessing. "She's also friends with his cousin so he'd probably know her pretty well. Maybe he saw something that the rest of us missed. Or maybe he was just being a typical guy about something for once."

"All this bad blood because they were kissing the same girl." Lily shook her head at the complexity of it all rooted in such a small thing.

"Well. . ." James started but abruptly refused to finish his sentence.

"Well what?" Lily wondered what James was holding out on her with.

"I probably shouldn't say." James adverted his eyes from Lily. "The rest becomes major speculation that I don't really have anything to support it with. It's just my own opinion."

"What is it?" Lily urged.

"Um, well, I don't think it was JUST kissing." James flatly said.

Lily stared at James and the implications of these words.

"You're not suggesting – " Lily started blushing so deeply that she couldn't finish the sentence properly. Florence had a promiscuous reputation and Sirius was a professional bachelor, but that didn't mean anything necessarily. And Severus, well, Lily just assumed he was above that sort of thing with his introversion and aloof nature. "Do you think it was with Sirius or Severus?"

"Could be both, one or the other, maybe neither at all." James shrugged. "As I said, this is just MY opinion."

"Why is that your opinion?" Lily asked.

"Lots of little things, that are more gut feelings than facts, but the only event I can offer up is when I walked in on an argument the two of them were having when I was sneaking off to the kitchen under my family cloak." James replied with a disturbed look. "Snape. . . I've never seen him so furious. He was beside himself; screaming at Sirius, completely without his usual detached, icy composure. I don't know exactly what they were yelling about because I didn't feel right listening in so I kept walking on."

"And you can only think of one scenario that would make YOU that upset with someone." Lily finished.

"Basically." James nodded.

"Even if something did happen like that. . ." Lily uncomfortably spoke about her friend's personal lives. "I don't know why they would be bothered that much themselves. I serious doubt either Sirius or Severus would want Florence if she was playing them off each other like that."

"Guys tend to get riled about that sort of thing, even easy going ones like Sirius and coldly logical ones like Snape." James attempted to explain the typical male mind to Lily. "It's a territoriality thing. Men don't much fancy the idea of girls their going with being off with other guys."

Lily could understand how, if that was what happened, someone could get so furious. If she was sleeping with someone and found out he was off with some other girl, Lily knew she would be livid. Conversely, even if she, herself, wasn't sleeping with the person but found out he had with another girl, she'd probably feel equally betrayed.

"Girls don't like it very much either." Lily muttered a little more bitterly than she had intended as she thought of Cassidy. "So, in YOUR opinion, what do you think happened between those three?"

"I'd rather not give it if that's alright." James blushed slightly as he mumbled his reply before adding. "Well, like I said, that's major speculation on my part. For all I know, neither of them were doing anything more than snogging Florence. In fact, if I had to bet, that IS probably all there is too it."

"I don't think we should worry about it anymore." Lily decided. "I mean, it happened years ago and it's not like it's really much of our business anyway."

"Absolutely." James agreed, climbing to his feet. He held out his hand to help Lily up. "Want to head to the Three Broomsticks?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Lily smiled as she walked off with James towards Hogsmeade, hoping that the most complicated parts of their relationship were far behind them.

What was it about perfect moments that made the so fleeting and few?

Sirius pounded a few sharp raps on the Gameskeeper's hut before waiting for the reply if there was to be one. His little run in with Florence had sent him back to the dormitories but after thrashing about and growling unintelligible angry things lost its appeal, Sirius decided that he didn't want to be alone with his own darkly turned thoughts. After a half moments lingering, the door opened and the gigantic Hagrid stepped into the doorway.

"Why 'ello there, Sirius!" Hagrid greeted brightly as he laid eyes on Sirius. "Off yer probation are yeh?"

"I've got a day's reprieve." Sirius admitted with a guilty smile. "Since it's already been about a month since you extended me that invitation for tea, I decided it was long past due to take you up on it."

"Right glad yeh did that!" Hagrid beamed as he gestured for Sirius to enter his home.

Sirius smiled and nodded as he stepped into Hagrid's hut, thoroughly amused by the quaint and oddly proportioned accommodations to meet the Gameskeeper's large size. Seating himself at the oak table as he was gestured to, Sirius folded his hands politely in front of him as Hagrid poured them both tea.

"I must admit that I hadn't expected to find you here." Sirius stated before sipping his tea. "I'd have thought you'd be at Hogsmeade with the rest of the school."

"Usually I'd pop in fer a bit, yeah." Hagrid nodded before gesturing to a boarhound pup sleeping on the armchair. It was so still, Sirius hadn't even noticed it when he had surveyed the room. "That's Fang there, just got him so I still need to be work'n on bond'n with him. 'e'll make a grand dog. Dogs'er probably the loyalist creatures yeh can find, Muggle and Wizard alike."

"I like dogs too." Sirius grinned madly at this before straightening up a bit. "I'm sure James would have come along with me if he wasn't off at Hogsmeade with the rest of the school."

"Oh, don't worry 'bout that. I saw yer friend when he had tah help me weed out some gnomes which have been causing a bother fer Professor Sprout and her Greenhouses." Hagrid reassured. "Told me that he landed himself in hot water fer ridding his broom in the school. I must admit I was more than a bit surprise to not hear that yeh were a part of that."

"Well, if I wasn't in so much hot water already I probably would have." Sirius admitted with a mischievous grin over the mere idea. "It's not really a stupid idea unless I'm a part of it."

Hagrid chuckled deeply over this, shaking the air along with his massive form.

"Ey, I bet yeh would 'ave." Hagrid agreed. "Yeh must be a close-knit group of friends tah be willing tah take so many chances fer one another. Yeh, James, the Lupin boy, and Pettigrew I mean. Yeh all proved that back on New Years."

"All the same, I don't think I needed to almost get half of them killed to prove it." Sirius admitted guiltily. "They're good not to hate me for it. Almost wasn't sure if Remus would ever get around to forgiving me for a while there."

"But he did, didn't he?" Hagrid raised his eyebrows.

"Eventually, yes." Sirius nodded.

"Well there yeh go there!" Hagrid smiled at the boy. "Says a lot about yeh and Remus right there. Not only that he's a good and forgiv'n man but that yer the sort of friend worth forgiv'n. I imagine if yeh weren't an exceptional friend the rest of the time, Remus would never 'ave come around. Yeh should probably stop beating yerself up over this since yer the only one who still seems worried by it."

"It wouldn't be much of a penance if I wasn't the one who felt the guiltiest about it, now would it?" Sirius noted.

"Probably not." Hagrid confessed, seemingly unsure of what to say next so he merely extended his tea pot towards Sirius in a gesture to pour him a fresh cup.

"Bloody grand game of Quidditch, wasn't it?"

Back from Hogsmeade, James followed Lily into her dorm room, attempting to squeeze in as much time as he could with her before he had to run off to coach practice. Seated on her bed, Lily began puller her shoes off her feet while James paced about the floor listlessly.

"You keep a lot of secrets James, you know that?" Lily commented out of the blue. James wondered what brought this on as the peered at her over the rim of his glasses.

"It's come to my attention." James smirked. "Any reason in particular you're bringing this up?"

"I want to hear a secret that's yours." Lily demanded with an amused expression. "Not one of Sirius's or Remus's or Professor McGonagall's, or some random person on the street. One that's all your own that people don't know about."

James started laughing.

"I don't really have any." James confessed. "The lives around mine are far more entertaining, I assure you."

"Oh come off it." Lily rolled her eyes. "A man who owns an invisibility cloak doesn't get to pass himself off as mundane."

"What do you want to know?" James laughed, nit sure what she was getting at.

"How about something scandalous?" Lily suggested. "If I'm going to be Mrs. Minister of Magic I'll need an inventory of all the skeletons in your closet."

"Same goes for you, Luv!" James shot back. "I don't want some dark secret of yours biting me in the arse in the midst of my career."

It was Lily's turn to laugh.

"Me? What could I possibly have done that would be scandalous?" Lily gaped as he little game backfired.

"You tell me." James urged. "Come on, what's something you don't think you can tell me?"

"Oh I can think of a few things!" Lily chuckled vaguely.

"Well you tell me one and I'll tell you one of my own." James offered. "In spite of recent valentine's day gestures, I don't think you have a halo on your head."

"I don't know if this is a good idea." Lily sighed as she thought about how bad this game of truth or dare could turn out.

"Lily, there is NOTHING you can tell me that will change me feelings about you." James promise with a gentle smile. "I love you Lily, it's a package deal of all your virtues and vices. I mean, if I could take you going to the Yule Ball with Snape without making a scene. . ."

"That's just it." Lily broke in, causing James to halt his sentence. "Probably the only thing I wouldn't tell you involves Severus. Do you still want to know?"

James was fairly sure he didn't.

"Yes." James replied blankly.

"When you and I first kissed and I thought you were just saying and doing all those things to keep me distracted from the party downstairs, I ran off to the Prefect's bathroom." Lily started off. "Severus found me there and insisted I go along back with him to his room. I didn't feel particularly inclined to go anywhere else so I went along with him."

"That's where you were that night? Snape's room?" James's expression paled slightly.

"Nothing happened, James." Lily assured quietly, meeting his eyes. "We talked a bit, I nodded off, and Severus read. Nothing more impressive than that."

"You feel asleep in his room?" James repeated numbly. The idea of Lily going to the Ball with his rival had been a near maddening prospect but to know she was off in his room, let alone after hours, was enough to torment James with the sheer possibilities of what might have transpired. It didn't matter that this all happened before he and Lily were even dating, it was still shocking.

"Okay, you're breaking your word here!" Lily scowled in a huff. "You're acting differently towards me. So which are you going to believe: me or whatever twisted fantasy you're concocting in your mind?"

"You; naturally." James relented, shaking off his perturbed feelings like a cold draft. "It's just. . . well, it's not what I expected to hear."

"That's why they're called 'secrets' James. Because you don't expect them of a person." Lily noted.

"Did you and he ever - ?"

"JAMES!"

"I WAS GOING TO SAY KISS!" James insisted as the blood rushed to his cheeks. What Lily was implying was certainly something James DID NOT want to know even if it did happen.

"No." Lily shook her head. "Nor did we ever come close to it from my perspective. Severus and I were just friends."

James sighed, feeling relieved. Snape might be cold and withdrawn but if he hadn't tried anything ever with Lily in all the times they were off and getting on well with one another and had enough opportunities to attempt something with her, then James had no reason to sweat over where Lily spent one night away from Gryffindor.

Still, James would have welcomed a memory charm cast on him right about then.

"Well, what's your horrible secret that I get to be appalled over?" Lily pressed.

"Give me a minute, I have to rank them in order of which is the most foul." James joked as he thought it over. Considering all the things he had done in his life, James finally isolated the single most scandalous thing he had done.

"I'm an illegal Animage."

"You're an illegal Animage at seventeen?" Lily eyed James skeptically. "Come on now, James! Wizards and Witches spend half their lives trying to manage something like that."

"Hey, I spent nearly four years working on it!" James insisted. "It may not have been half my life but that didn't make it any small task to pull off."

"James, if you achieved becoming an Animage by the age of sixteen under the noses of the entire administration and ministry, you'd probably be the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." Lily decided.

Crossing her arms while she studied James, Lily was waiting for him to tell her that it was all a gag. James disappointed her by just shrugging and running his hand through his hair as he flashed an awkward smile.

"Well, I DID have a bit of help." James admitted modestly.

"You're serious then?" Lily's expression dropped from one of skepticism to one of awe as she began to believe James was telling her the truth.

"Yes." James nodded. "I could prove it by showing you, but I don't think you'd much care to have a stag in your bedroom."

"Stag?" Lily questioned the choice in animal before she suddenly recalled an early morning in November.

It was the same morning where she and Arabella had been out taking pictures near the Forbidden Forest when a stag had wandered out seeking attention. Probably reacting to the quizzical look over her face, James's suddenly sheepish expression told Lily that the friendly buck they had encountered was probably far more than it seemed.

"Oh!" Lily's eyes went wide with indignation, as she started pulling pillows from her bed and threw them at James. "Oh you sneaking, little git! And here I thought the worst I had to look out for was you and that cloak of yours! You just stood there listening to Arabella and I pouring our hearts out to one another, talking about YOU, while I just kept on stroking you like the ignorant cow I was!"

"Hey there!" James caught the first two pillows with both his hands but took the third to his face as he ran out of hands. Ducking the fourth one with his glasses askew, James dropped the other two and darted over to Lily around the waist, pulling her onto the bed with him. James kept Lily hugged against his chest as she thrashed about trying to get at him.

James couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you appreciate how ridiculous it is for you to be upset with me over this?" James demanded between his chuckles. "I mean, you didn't say anything that I couldn't have GUESSED at, we're DATING now, and you STILL stroke me from time to time!"

James had to tighten his grip as Lily started struggling even more, which in turned, warranted more laughing on his part.

"There's no statute of limitations on violating someone's privacy James!" Lily broke out laughing, finding it hard to keep on being cross with her boyfriend.

Giving up on breaking free, Lily stopped fighting against James's hold. Easing his grip, James kept his arms around Lily, hugging her on top her bed as he peered down at her.

"You're not really mad, are you?" James wanted to be certain.

"I suppose it would be something of a moot point if I were." Lily admitted with a smile. "Still, you're a horrible, devious boy."

"Oh you knew that coming into the relationship." James grinned.

"Yes I did." Lily nodded. "I love you all the same."

"I love you too." James returned as kissed her cheek. "I love my sweet, FORGIVING girlfriend."

"So I'm snogging the most brilliant student at Hogwarts in probably a century." Lily mused to the ceiling with a goofy smile. "I've certainly done well for myself!"

"Well if you were inclined to do more than snog, all that talk about stroking has put some wicked ideas into my head." James raised his eyebrows to Lily in a suggestive manner, causing her to laugh out loud.

"I bet they would, you randy prat!" Lily agreed, amused. "But you have Quidditch practice in twenty minutes."

James gave off a frustrated sighed and rolled his eyes as this evidently had slipped his mind.

"Bugger it!" James declared as he latched onto Lily tighter, nuzzling into her neck. "I'm the Quidditch Captain, I make all the decisions. And I've decided to stay in her and snog you until you're too weary to remind me of my schedule."

Half a moment later, James found himself standing on the stairs outside Lily's closed bedroom door.

"So the Quidditch Captain's GIRLFRIEND makes all the decision now, is that it?" James demanded through the wood with a laugh.

Making his way into the Boys' dormitories, James passed the male members of his team who were all fully dressed for Quidditch, brooms in hand.

"There you are, Cap'!" Sirius smirked. "Been looking for you. You're not even dressed yet?"

"Yeah, well your fearless leader will be right with you once he takes a cold shower!" James promised under his breath as he rushed past the team.

All the older boys started laughing, leaving Bill Weasley to raise a quizzical eyebrow.

"Now why would he shower BEFORE practice?" Bill wondered. "I mean, he's only going to get all dirty during it and need to take another one later on!"

Sirius smiled down at Bill and ruffled the younger boy's hair.

"I'm going to like you." Sirius complimented

Not quite catching why that was exactly, Bill still smiled at the other boy's praise.


	27. Cloaks and Daggers

Cloaks and Daggers

By: Oy! Angelina

For the three positions opening up on the House Quidditch Team in the fall, nearly twenty Gryffindor applicants showed up on the school Pitch to tryout on the afternoon back from Hogsmeade.

Petitioning Cassidy to help him manage the recruits, James separated everyone into two separate teams to run a mock match. Rotating players and positions around with the regular team and reserves on hand to offer suggestions, James and Cassidy soared the field to observe the finesse and potential those trying out. After several hours of scoring, blocking, and debrooming the Snitch was finally snared by one exuberant 3rd Year calling an end to the game. Debating the matter over a bit, James and Cassidy could agree on nine hopefuls to invite back for another try.

James was happy that Sirius and the Weasley boy were amongst them.

Announcing his decision to everyone, most of the candidates abandoned the pitch: some thrilled to be called back while others were disappointed in not making the cut. The wide-eyed Bill Weasley and smirking Sirius Black lingered behind with James and Cassidy to help organize the equipment left behind so Madam Hooch wouldn't have a fit. Remus and Peter ceased observing from the stands and joined their friends on the green.

"So, which of you do I have to shag to get that spot on the team?" Sirius grinned between Cassidy and James.

"My vote's fer the captain here if that count's fer anything." Cassidy pointed to James.

"Yeah, my vote's for me too." James winked at his best friend.

Breaking down into laughter, James recovered and smiled to Sirius and Bill.

"Actually, the way I'm figuring it now, if the two of you give me the same performance during the next tier of the tryouts, I'll be putting Sirius on as a Chaser and giving Weasley a reserve position." James divulged.

Sirius and Bill smiled at one another broadly, causing Cassidy to grunt.

"Yer useless as an impartial judge, Potter." Cassidy rolled her eyes.

"Imagine how bad I'd be if Lily had gone out." James grinned as he handed off an armful of brooms to Bill. "You think you can put this in storage for me."

Nodding enthusiastically to gain curry with the team Captain, Bill accepted the brooms and speed off.

"If he doesn't make the next cut, can we still keep him around? I like the lad." Sirius asked fondly as he watched Bill dash away. Cassidy kept her eyes on Bill too before turning to the four boys in her Year.

"You ought to know what I caught Macnair up to out at Hogsmeade." Cassidy grimly spoke.

Rehashing the events as she understood it, from Macnair cornering Gwen McGinnis and Millicent Meeks to Winifred Wilkes's unprompted arrival, James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus's expressions fought between concerned shock and venomous fury.

"I could vomit in rage." Sirius reported as he finished listening to Cassidy's account.

"You do that, but then you're helping me break both his arms." James decided. "You sure of what you think was going on, Cass?"

"I can think of only a few things probably run'n through Macnair's mind then and all of them involve me smash'n this bat into his windpipe fer it." Cassidy waved her Beater's equipment.

"Why don't I hang onto this then?" Sirius pulled the bat from Cassidy's grip.

"When did yeh become the voice of reason, Black?" Cassidy demanded.

"Oh I haven't, you just happened to produce a grand idea I'd very much like to put into motion." Sirius glowered. "I'll leave all nay saying to the kindly Mr. Lupin."

"Well someone else can do it, I'm with Sirius." Remus informed irritably as he shoved his hands darkly into his robes. He loathed Macnair's sort unconditionally and could be ill at the thought of him cornering Arabella up some dark passage.

"What are we going to do?" James demanded. "Not to be a chauvinist here, but I don't much like the idea of Slytherin's bullying our girls."

"Ye have my agreement on that." Cassidy nodded nursing the blow to her ego. "I don't spend my hours looking out fer runts like Gwen and push-overs like Millie teh let a slight like this go unpunished."

"We should mention this to Lily." Peter stated. "I mean, Macnair shouldn't be doing this sort of thing."

"I'll tell her." James nodded but scowled. "Though from what Cassidy said, it doesn't sound like McGonagall or the other Professors will be able to do much more than tell him to stay away from Millicent and Gwen if all he was doing was talking with them."

"Yhe know that's not all he had on his mind. That should count fer something!" Cassidy fumed.

"We'll do something about it then, you tell Millicent and Gwen that." Peter promised Cassidy. "It involves two of our favorite activates: saving lovely damsels and pranking the hell out of Slytherin."

The three other boys nodded, confirming Peter's vow. It would be a long night of meticulous plotting. Breaking away from the dialogue, Sirius nodded to be bleachers.

"Is that Wilkes up in the stands?" Sirius raised an eyebrow as he peered towards the Gryffindor section.

"She showed up about halfway through the practice." Peter nodded, glancing over his shoulder at her with disdain. "I wish she sat in her own section instead of ours."

"She didn't cause us any trouble." Remus frowned at Peter. "She barely spoke to us the entire time. I think she just fancies Quidditch."

"Probably spying for the Slytherin team." Cassidy guessed with a scowl. "Seeing who you take on."

"I don't think so." James shook his head. "She has nothing to do with the House Team as far as I know and we won't be playing Slytherin until next season anyway so it's not like it'll be much of a secret."

"I think I'll go see what she wants." Cassidy decided as she headed up towards the stands.

"Don't bully her, Cass!" Sirius urged out of nowhere. "She lent me a hand in the Potions brawl and just helped out Gwen and Millie!"

"Yeh sweet on Snape's cousin all of a sudden, Black?" Cassidy teased with a grin.

A truly amused smile sprang to Sirius's face as he glanced away.

"Don't you think Snape hates me enough already?" Sirius laughed a little too loudly. "No, as sweet as forbidden fruit might be I'm just being chivalrous here. I've got more going for Wilkes than against, that's all."

"I'll play nice." Cassidy assured as she abandoned the boys.

"Speaking of Wilkes, Florence attempted talking to me today." Sirius reported, evidently not savoring the conversation. Remus and Peter exchanged concerned glances while James had a nagging sense of déjà vu over the topic.

"Sorry Mate." Appeared to be the best Peter had to offer.

"What did she want?" Remus asked frowning again, not at all interested in watching Florence Copia drag his friend through the wringer more than she already had.

"Mostly seemed like she wanted to talk to me." Sirius shook his head, not entirely sure what to think of Florence engaging him. "It was Florance's usual runaround but it sounded like she was trying to scratch an itch on her conscience."

"Took her two years to finally feel guilty?" Peter snorted. "Never found that girl particularly prompt on the uptake."

"You all right?" James questioned in concern.

Sirius threw up his default smile, beaming it at his friends.

"Yeah, I'm grand, don't worry." Sirius assured to a trio of frowning faces.

"Don't do that, Padfoot." Remus insisted. "Say it quickly so you don't have to think if you actually mean it."

"It's alright if you're NOT fine." James added. "Not like we'll judge you for it. Not a chap amongst us who hasn't hit a rough spot with the fairer sex now and again."

"Mostly James though." Peter nodded.

"Yes, mostly me." James agreed with a smile.

Sirius smiled back, weakly this time. He found his performance carefree and riding high a more entertaining one than grappling with the complicated problems the act of living tends to invite. Still, these were his closest friends in the whole world and it didn't pay to play tough with them all the time. To always be strong for them.

It was okay to let yourself be vulnerable from time to time in the proper company.

"I don't know how to feel about it all still." Sirius admitted reluctantly.

"We could talk about it." James offered. "You never really bring it up and you always dodge the conversation when one of us mentions it."

"Well, there's really just not a lot to tell." Sirius confessed. "Fooled around a bit with Florence, that Jorkins cow found us out and passed along the word before I could hex her, and I had to hear through a ranting Snape that Florence was moonlighting with ME. End tryst."

"You really had no idea about Snape?" Peter reiterated.

"None." Sirius shrugged honestly. "Wouldn't have touched her if I had. If I want to get at Snape, I'm not the low-blowing type to attack him through someone else."

Sirius's friends exchanged some relieved glances. They had suspected all along that Sirius hadn't intentionally dated Florence on the sly, but it was good to hear him say it in a way that made them all believe it.

"Did you and Florence . . ." James knew what he wanted to ask but the words weren't coming out as well as he hoped.

Sirius caught the drift.

"Nah." Sirius shook his head. "I mean we did more than hold hands and gaze fondly into one another's eyes but we weren't close enough for something like that."

More relieved looks all around as the Marauders were happy to know that the situation wasn't nearly as complicated as they had assumed. But this begged another question.

"What about Snape?" Peter inquired.

"He didn't mention it and I REALLY don't want to try and imagine." Sirius snorted with a disgusted expression. "Your guess is as good as mine with that Slytherin lot. Tudor and Lestrange make me feel like I should be paying some cover charge half the time and the rest range from promiscuous to perverse from what I understand. They simply weren't raised with our wholesome Gryffindor values."

"Such as defiling every empty classroom with snogging and groping some girl?" James smirked to Sirius knowingly.

"I don't remember laying claim to us being asexual saints." Sirius grinned. "Especially when some of us have Prefect girlfriends with private bedrooms."

"Life is GOOD." James's smile was manic and sincere.

Laughing a bit over this, the boys decided to head off for supper and shower later on since they were already straggling. James called up to Cassidy who was still talking with Wilkes and asked her to lock up the Pitch once they were done. Exiting the green, Remus turned to Sirius with a solemn expression.

"You never did mention how you felt about Florence." Remus observed softly. "Before you started hating her, that is."

"I don't hate her. I don't like her but I don't hate her." Sirius sighed. "Now that I've had a few years to think about it, I imagine Florence is just very insecure and needs attention anyway she can manage it. It's hard to hate someone who hates themselves that much to begin with. Still it's not easy to forgive her either."

"Did you think you were in love her?" James hoped this wasn't a bad question to ask.

"Not her. No."

This was the most Sirius would say on the issue that neither James, Remus, nor Peter cared to press any further.

Severus Snape loathed his afternoon classes during the week as all of them promised the intolerable company of James Potter and his crowd. It wasn't bad enough that he had to suffer through Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons with those mongrel idiots but they were present in most of his electives as well.

Ancient Runes was uneventful since Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, and Millicent Meeks were the only Gryffindors of their Year that cared to enroll and all three were usually studious and polite. Severus had little interest in their lessons involving interpreting cast runes since he felt these practices had a better place in fluff courses like Divinations, but the linguistic implications and analysis of word formation for incantations was certainly intriguing.

Arithmancy, in general, struck Severus as mindless busywork prescribed by Professor Vector's uncreative mind. Hours devoted to intricate number charts for no conceivable purpose irritated Severus enough without having to endure Potter currying the Professor's favor in his desperate need to convince everyone he was the smartest member of the class. Since Meeks was the only other Gryffindor present in a class predominantly of Ravenclaws, Potter's usual showboating was tapered off since there wasn't anyone in particular to impress.

Muggle Studies was a different matter.

Potter, Pettigrew, Lupin, and, of course, Black assaulted the integrity of the class with ceaseless banter and juvenile antics since the four were communally bad influences upon one another whenever together. They were often trying to earn laughs off Kinkade, Meeks, Winifred and the rest of the class since it was predominantly Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. In fact, Severus and Winifred were the only members of Slytherin to participate in Muggle Studies as their Housemates considered it a waste of time.

The instructor of the class, Professor Prosaik, was a stout man in his early fifties with gray hair covering his head and a bushy mustache covering his mouth. He was a Muggle-Born Wizard and took his field very seriously and relished in boring his pupils with inane details on Muggle life that he sporadically included in his tests. This forced serious students such as Severus to take detailed notes on everything Prosaik lectured if they wanted top marks in the class.

Potter chose to transfigure half of his stationary equipment into something or another traditionally through the periods. Being the idiot-savant he was though, Potter retained even the most tedious of information of the class without any effort while the rest of them feverously scribbled notes out.

Black did his own transfiguration work in Muggle Studies by means of turning it into a mockery of a classroom with his smart comments for everything they discussed. Being the fool he was, Black had the class eating out of his hand and Professor Prosaik hot-tempered over the fact Black was the worst type of student:

Remarkably brilliant without any regard for authority.

When he wasn't lecturing, Professor Prosaik had a tendency to assign weekly essays on Muggle topics that were two - three feet in length. Prosaik also had the nasty habit of dissecting his students' papers as he returned them with the class as his audience.

"I spent most of the night struggling to finish these papers on influences in Muggle development so I could hand them back to all of you today. You all have Sirius Black to thank for jarring me awake around midnight or so after a majority of your mediocre attempts had compelled me to nod off." Professor Prosaik announced as he loomed over Sirius Black's desk stiffly returning his work. "His paper entitled _'Television: Influential Minion of the Oppressive Consumer Devil' _turned simple Muggle recreation into a controversial soapbox for Mr. Black to preach. Thank you, Black, it wouldn't be an assignment without your warped slant, now would it? I would have thought after three and a half years you would have run out of material by now."

"If it's one thing the Muggles have taught me, Sir, it's to rise to meet any daunting challenge by doing the same old thing with a fresh twist." Black grinned like the prat he was.

"While an imaginative attempt at perfect marks, Mr. Black; I'm afraid the best I could offer was an eight out of ten." Professor Prosaik's mustache twitched as Severus guessed his lips twisted into a cross expression underneath.

"Oh come on!" Sirius protested with a laugh. "Professor Prosaik, I actually bothered to put my whole arse in to this assignment instead of the usual half!"

Laughter sprang out from a majority of the class with this comment.

"Yes, well the cheeky delivery of the content distracted proof from your claims." Professor Prosaik justified. "If I had wanted satyr, Mr. Black, I would have assigned it."

Turning to James Potter, Prosaik handed back his parchment.

"And in the most recent addition to your sudden attempts at serious work, Mr. Potter, I gave you full marks for you well-articulated essay on Charles Darwin's Origins of Muggles." Professor Prosiak praised. "Well done, Potter. Most pureblood wizards lack the abstract thinking required for such a non-magical or mythical explanation as Darwin's."

"Thank you sir." Potter accepted with a smile.

"It's just good to see you not joining Black on his usual tangents." Prosaik nodded.

"That's just because he's got his Muggle-Born girlfriend proof-reading his papers to make sure he keeps all his toes in line." Black assured. Potter laughed off the comment but glared unappreciatively at Black, evidently not pleased with having his relationship with Lily broadcasted to his Professor.

That or Potter was simply deluding himself into believing that Lily didn't thoroughly own him like Black had suggested.

"Mr. Snape decided to address a similar topic to Mr. Potter with an interesting perspective." Professor Prosaik turned to Snape handing his parchment to him. "Extraordinary job, all in all. The parallels of Muggle ingenuity with the mythical figure Prometheus earned you a two full points extra on the assignment giving you a twelve out of ten. Congratulations of securing your position as top of my class."

Prosaik turned briefly to Potter as he added.

"I'll have to check with your other professors, but you and Potter might be dead even for the Head Wizard of your Year. Could be a matter of theO.W.L.sand recommendations over which of you will come out as Head Boy."

As Professor Prosaik continued to hand back essays, Severus turned to share a displeased glare with Potter. Neither of them liked being so close to the brass ring with the other right on top of them. Potter's popularity and natural talent with magic made him a tough opponent to win out over, but Severus had both exemplary marks and behavior in all his classes.

It was shaping to be a brutally competitive term.

Lily found it hard to remain attentive throughout the course of the Prefect meeting. The Year's Head Boy and Head Girl took turns droning on about the same things they discussed every week about upcoming school events, comments or suggestions from the faculty and students, and measures to improve intra-House cooperation (i.e. Gryffindors and Slytherin need to stop quarreling like rabid badgers).

Even without the repetitive quality to these mandatory meetings, Lily caught her mind and eye wandering a little too often to Severus Snape and his House.

James's story about Sirius. Florence, and Severus was hard to block out. Lily found herself tempted to walk straight up to Copia and scream at her for her abysmal behavior towards two people Lily considered friends and Florence had considered lovers on some level. It was appalling how some people paid such little mind to the feelings of others.

A part of Lily recognized that, if she were a different person with a different inclination, she could probably strut about like Copia, flaunting any hint of beauty and charisma she possessed to draw men onto the jagged rocks of her personality. But she would never do such a thing. Lily felt guilt even thinking about it which is why it made it so impossible for her to understand or sympathize with Florence in anyway.

Was she just one more bad egg in the Slytherin clutch?

Mary Tudor was a raving psychotic hiding beneath a pureblood guise.

Aaron Lestrange was her smug marionette that she dragged about by the strings.

Regius Avery was as sexist as he was craven as he made certain to never adopt a conviction that he couldn't discard at the drop of a hat.

Hekate Undercross unfortunately mannish features provoked her to be the biggest female bully in Slytherin.

Winifred Wilkes was either a living contradiction or an utter enigma as she was linked to some elaborately cruel plot one moment and saving people from rival Houses the next.

Serpen Nott was the witless omega of the 6th Year Slytherins who tolerated the harassment of his 'friends' because he had no choice but to.

And Walden Macnair was a repulsive brute who tormented anything smaller than himself.

Lily briefly relieved James telling her about his imposing upon Gwen and Millicent and felt slightly ill. She mentioned it to McGonagall who had undoubtedly spoken with Macnair but that was probably as far as it went. After all, he hadn't threatened Millicent or Gwen let alone touched them and there wasn't any school rules against being a slovenly creep so a chiding and warning to avoid the girls was probably the best they could do.

If anything, this would just entice Macnair to harass the girls further.

That's why Lily was determined to mention something to Severus on the matter. He was Macnair's Prefect and had far more access to the prat than Lily did. Severus was at the perfect vantage point to keep an eye on Macnair and his behavior. Additionally, Lily suspected that Severus would greatly frown upon anyone in his House, let alone Year, behaving so crassly.

Waiting until the meeting had concluded and lingering behind as the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects departed with the Head students, Lily approached Severus awkwardly.

"Could I speak with you a moment, Severus?" Lily requested.

Severus stopped adjusting his things and stared at Lily.

"I suppose, depending on the subject." Severus specified. Lily assumed this was his polite way of deflecting any conversations that might require him to be less than candid in his opinion of James or their friends.

"James mentioned something to me about Macnair." Lily introduced frowning. "He said that Macnair was harassing Gwen McGinnis and Millicent Meeks at Hogsmeade."

"I don't find this news particularly impressive." Severus admitted, all too conscious of Macnair's usual habit of bullying others for amusement.

Lily shifted her weight uncomfortably; partially from the conversation and partially for the person she was having it with.

"He was making the girls very uneasy with his presence." Lily hoped she wouldn't have to elaborate much more past that. Severus's eyes appeared to grow shades dark as she concluded her sentence, indicating that she probably wouldn't have to go on.

A specific discomfort seemed to envelope both the Prefects now.

"What did he do?" Severus loathed to even ask.

"Nothing." Lily shook her head. "Mostly he just intimidated them, until your cousin . . . interrupted things."

"Winifred?" Severus questioned.

"You sound surprised." Lily noted.

He was.

It was odd behavior for Winifred to directly intervene on any matter. She preferred hiding in shadows and misdirection to anything overt on her part. Of course, Winifred had been displaying a lot of odd behavior lately. Openly quarrelling with Nott after lying about attacking him and fraternizing with Gryffindors was uncharacteristic enough of his cousin without adding unprovoked acts of benevolence to the mix.

Again, Severus wanted to know what agenda Winifred was striving for.

"I merely hadn't anticipated that of Winifred." Severus replied.

"Apparently she threatened to set his shoes on fire after thoroughly spooking him." Lily smiled in spite of herself, before quickly sobering to the seriousness of the discussion. "I hope it doesn't disappoint you to know she did that."

"I am disappointed." Severus frowned. "Winifred should have followed through."

Lily didn't know if Severus was joking or really wished Wilkes had set a member of their House ablaze.

"Well, I'm not sure how much farther things would have gone past that." Lily confessed her uncertainty on the situation. "Macnair just upset them and I wanted to make you aware of what was happening since he was in your House. I would want to know if someone in mine was behaving this way."

"Thank you for informing me." Severus nodded stiffly. "I'll mention something to Heilsing and speak to Macnair personally when I have the chance."

"Thank you for seeing to it." Lily smiled appreciatively.

"Not at all." Severus deflected the comment as he gathered his possessions. "If you'll excuse me, I have many matters to attend to and they are evidently multiplying."

Watching Severus Snape sweep off towards the dungeons glowering, Lily sighed audibly. It was good to know that Severus appeared to be a jarred by this behavior of Macnair's as she was. She hadn't really suspected otherwise of him, but was just relieved to know her faith wasn't misplaced in the Slytherin boy. It also didn't hurt that his cousin appeared to share his notion of integrity that didn't fail her when the situation called for it.

It was comforting to know there were good people in Slytherin.

Severus debated whether or not to tell anything to Professor Heilsing. Not because he cared to protect Macnair, but alerting her of his behavior would severely impair Severus's own measures to crucify him for it. He wasn't oblivious to Macnair's tendencies to torment others, but Severus chided himself for allowing them to progress to such a volatile state. The warning signs were there and the unbalanced drives of adolescence only compounded Macnair's creativity. McGinnis was obnoxious and stupid but that didn't give Macnair any excuse to impose himself on her. And Meeks was as harmless as she was inoffensive; making any victimization of her all the more revolting.

Severus resolved to put an end to it by one means or another before the day was out.

Entering his room, Severus deposited his belongings into their appropriate places before resuming the project he had been attempting for the past week. Severus extracted several tomes from both his personal collection and the library and opened them to the marked pages he had last been studying. It was a change of pace from his usual dabbling and research with potions, this particular endeavor was predominantly centered around Charms work.

Severus hated to admit it, even to himself, but it was proving to be more challenging than he had initially anticipated. He lacked the refinement required for some of the Charms necessitated while others were demanded an advanced understanding in that field of magic.

Not that this deterred him in the least.

His correspondence with Aurora Black every other day for the past month was arousing suspicion as his frequent trips to the Owlry and return visits from Helios was becoming conspicuous. Severus was confident that it had not gone unnoticed by certain individuals in his House and suspected that Sirius Black might have an inkling of it. Privacy was a very important consideration of Severus's.

Which was why he was investing his time as such presently.

He had only just removed his wand to recommence his task when a knock interrupted him. A disgruntled noise seeped from the back of Severus's throat as he swept over to the door fully prepared to brush off Heilsing or dismiss Winifred until later on.

Throwing open the door, Severus saw the startled face of Lily Evans instead.

"What are you doing down here?" Severus inquired, curious as to what her presence entailed.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry am I disturbing you?" Lily apologized, rather flustered.

It didn't serve either of their reputations well to have Lily stammering outside his bedroom door like this. Quickly surveying the hall, Severus shoved the door open to allow Lily access into his room for the first time since last October.

She appeared taken aback slightly by the invitation, but chose to enter instead of protest.

Shutting the door behind them, Severus turned back to his unexpected guest.

"Did you forget to mention something at the meeting?" Severus prompted. "Or something more about Macnair?"

"Neither." Lily answered quickly. "I forgot to ask you earlier, but I was wondering if you could clarify something for me from Potions class. O.W.L.'s are approaching and I can't afford to fall behind on the game."

"I see." Severus eyed Lily. She had never asked him for assistance before in any of their classes. He had assumed she didn't require it. Of course, she had spent the entire Prefect Meeting as though something were on her mind. Maybe this was simply her excuse for an opportunity to bring it up.

"If you're busy though, we can always discuss it later." Lily added politely with a nod over to his desk and the books stacked on it.

"Now is fine." Severus assured.

He briefly considered asking Lily's opinion on a few of the charms for his project, she was very skilled in the area and they had a civil working relationship. Ultimately, Severus decided against it. She would probably want to know what it was for and he didn't feel like either lying or explaining his motivations as far as this topic was concerned.

"I was wondering if there were any substitutions for eel fin in the Illumination Drafts we were working on." Lily went on. "If I was inclined to make a variation of the potion to have a more potent affect, that is."

"The granular residue of nocturnal breeds of pixies would offer a more vibrant glow." Severus reported. "However, the light won't last quite as long as it would with the standardized version."

"That's very helpful, thank you." Lily smiled.

"I trust you would have realized it eventually as they don't just arbitrarily select Head Girls at Hogwarts." Severus nodded.

"Pardon?" Lily questioned.

"It's presently unsubstantiated, but most of the professors assume you'll be Head Girl next year." Severus informed. "Your marks and popularity are a great credit to you."

"I hadn't realized I was that far ahead." Lily confessed woodenly. Severus couldn't decide whether she was truly ignorant or simply being modest.

"I don't know why you would suspect anything less." Severus stared.

"I thought Mary Tudor was keeping admirable pace." Lily admitted.

"Tudor is accomplished but trailing. Her marks aren't as high as yours and professors prefer a charisma that is humble to haughty." Severus rationalized. "Her preoccupation with frivolous feuds is largely responsible for this."

"I see." Lily replied stiffly.

Severus couldn't help but notice her rigid demeanor. Perhaps she wasn't accustomed to backbiting and was uncomfortable with the criticisms of Mary Tudor.

Probably too wicked an indulgence for those pristine Gryffindors.

Whatever was on her mind, Lily recovered with a smile and absently drifted her eyes around the room.

"You know, this is exactly how I pictured your room to be." Lily commented. "Not that there's anything wrong with it. I simply assumed you were running one giant Potion's experiment in here."

"Why would you assume otherwise?" Severus stared at her quizzically. Why would she need to assume anything about his room considering she had seen it before? It's not like he was one for redecorating.

"Well, you just never know for certain until you see with your own two eyes." Lily continued on. "The first time you step into someone's room is like a peek into their very soul if you – "

Lily cut her own sentence off when she became aware of Severus pointing his wand at her.

"Who are you?" Severus spoke in an even tone, though his black eyes flared.

"Severus? That's not funny." Lily chided in a worried pitch.

"Who are you?" Severus repeated, ignoring her. This person's odd behavior and erratic dialogues matched nothing of what Severus knew of Lily Evans.

"Lily Evans." Lily blinked nervously.

"Did I ask who you were _impersonating_?" Severus demanded softly.

Severus felt his grip ceasing tighter and tighter over his wand, desperate to direct it at the imposter along with whatever vicious curse sprang to his mind first. His seventeen years of ingrained composure fought this rash impulse, however.

To the present fortune of whomever this person was.

Severus loomed over "Lily Evans" compact frame, face twitching with rage. Sparks flickered sporadically at the tip if his wand as their commanding incantations rested upon the tip of his tongue.

She grinned at him like a psychotic.

Severus knew who that grin belonged to.

"Tudor." Severus rasped the name like a death sentence.

"Lily" sighed.

"Well, I suppose there's no point in lying now that the jig is up." Tudor shrugged Evans's shoulders. Her tone was disappointed, as though it were truly just a simple game. To Mary Tudor, it probably was. To Severus Snape, it was a horrible insult. Turning Lily's eyes up to Severus, Tudor casually inquired. "Out of curiosity, what gave me awa – "

The green eyes that belonged to the real Lily lit up with realization.

The psychotic grin had returned. It was ill-suited on Lily's lips.

"This ISN'T the first time Evans has been in here, is it?"

Severus chose to shove Mary roughly into the closest wall rather than answer her. Laughing madly, evidently amused with either herself, Severus, or merely the situation in general, Mary shook Lily's long red hair about as she did this with a wide smile. Twin green eyes sparkled as though the sanity behind them flickered as well.

It was an utter perversion to see something that so closely resembled the traditionally elegant and regal Lily Evans behaving so like this.

Severus found it entirely disturbing.

"So what happened?" Mary demanded curiously. "What did you and the _Proper Prefect_ do?"

"Silence." Severus warned in a growl.

Mary batted Lily's eyelashes at Severus.

"What's wrong, Severus?" Mary used Lily's voice in an over the top mimic of innocence. "Regretting that you didn't make a move on ME last time I was in here with you. While James wasn't looking? Or did I freeze up on you? I'm a bit of a tease like that I know. I couldn't ruin MY perfect, Mudblood image with that sort of debauch fun."

"That. Is. Enough." Severus shoved Mary again, clattering the shelf of books and glass containers next to her.

"Do you find roughing Evans up a bit cathartic, Severus?" Mary inquired with a chuckle. "I couldn't blame you the way she gave you the run around then brushed you off for Potter."

Mary and her depraved games.

Dawning a flirty smile and a wink, Mary stared at Severus.

"Come on; want to give "Evans" a toss?" Mary offered.

Severus was tempted to toss her clear off the roof.

"Do you think you're funny Mary?" Severus hissed. "Did you think I wouldn't notice eventually that you weren't Lily Evans? What were you hoping to accomplish with this? You and Lestrange playing one of your kinky little games again?"

"Oh RELAX!" Mary rolled Evans eyes with an exasperated sigh. "I was just teasing you a bit. Lighten up, Severus! I just wanted to see if I could bluff you. I figured if I managed that, Potter would be eating out of my hand. Or 'Lily's' more appropriately."

"Potter?" Severus repeated, before the weight of the situation crashed down around him. "Why would 'Lily' need to talk to James Potter?"

Mary appeared to be torn between crowing her plan and keeping it to herself.

"Tell me or I swear I'll shove a truth serum, vial and all, down your throat, Mary."

Both Severus and Tudor knew this threat wasn't idle.

"I thought I'd get back at Evans for dowsing me with parasites." Mary snarled.

"With a Polyjuice Potion." Severus guessed. "Under different circumstance, I would be impressed Mary. It's a complicated potion to brew and requires a patience I didn't give you the credit of possessing. It's been a month and a half since the fight in Potions; I would have thought your vengeance would have come on swifter wings."

"I'm not going for the kill, Severus, I'm going for the pain." Mary replied.

"How did you get a sample of Evans and one of her uniforms?" Severus pressed. He noticed the absent Prefect badge and cursed himself for not realizing it earlier.

"Laundry service for both." Mary muttered. "Marvel she's not bald with all the red hairs she sheds."

"So what were you planning to do with Evans's face?" Severus insisted. "The pain, not the kill?"

Mary appeared hesitant to go on. Without taking his wand from her, Severus reached for a thin, clear vile off a shelf and showed it to her.

"Do I have to give you an incentive to go on?" Severus asked silkily.

"Aaron and I were going to break up Potter and Evans." Mary turned away, unable to look at Severus from rage and disappointment.

"Lestrange. I anticipated he'd have a part to play in any plan of yours." Severus sneered. "I can assume you used the laundry service again to impersonate Potter as well?"

Severus took Mary's hot silence as a yes.

"What were the two of you going to do to them?" Severus continued to scratch at the heart of the matter. "Say insulting things? Perform publicly humiliating acts? Whatever discord you managed would unravel itself eventually, Mary. Potter and Evans aren't incompetent and someone is bound to notice that they were in two places at once. Why all this preparation, all this waiting for a childish ruse when you know . . ."

Severus felt his words trail off in his mouth as it dawned on him that provoking false quarrels between James Potter and Lily Evans WAS beneath Tudor's cunning. And her cruel capacity.

The pain over the kill.

What could Mary use a doppelganger Lily Evans for with James Potter that would hurt the real Lily? What could a perverse, sensual, malevolent creature like her contrive that would destroy their relationship.

Mary Tudor sleeping with James Potter and Aaron Lestrange sleeping with Lily Evans.

The mere idea of this scenario being played out was nauseating. Tudor masquerading as "Evans", duping Potter into some sort of intimacy he reserved only for the real Lily while Lestrange pulled a similar deception with Evans. The shame, violation, and inevitable rot between Potter and Evans that would come after that was unfathomable to Severus but he could trust that no matter how little he thought of James Potter he didn't deserve that and Lily Evans deserved worlds better.

The pain over the kill.

Practically the Slytherin mantra.

"You would sleep with Potter to stab Evans in her heart? Likewise for him?" Severus stepped closer to Tudor. "I have never heard of anything more sadistic in all my years in Slytherin."

"I don't know what _Slytherin_ you've been living in then! And I really don't know why you'd care at all about this." Mary seethed. "I figure after she's broken in a bit, Lily "the Real McCoy" Evans can get off her pedestal and pay you a bit of attention. Considering the things you know I'm capable of, those two are getting off unscathed without a drop of blood to be spilled."

Severus had never heard a more vile justification for such a heinous act.

"You expect me to believe this is mercy on your part?" Severus all but saw red. "You recognize precisely how irreparably damaging this would be to their souls. It would DESTROY THEM Mary, taint them for life, and you revile in that! THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ATROCIOUS DEEDS YOU COULD INFLICT ON ANOTHER PERSON!"

Severus felt murderous towards Tudor in this moment and knew he her being alone in a confined setting would end tragically.

For Tudor.

"You will take me to where you're brewing the potion." Severus ordered through his teeth. "I'm putting an end to this before it even begins."

"No I won't!" Mary used Evans lips to sneer in a most foul expression.

Severus jarred her frame against the wall to reiterate his request one again.

"DON'T. TOY. WITH. ME." Severus insisted furiously. "You are going to take me to the potion, I shall destroy every last drop of it, and then we're having a word with Lestrange. If I even SUSPECT you're plotting ANYTHING like this EVER again, Tudor, the suffering and anguish on your and Lestrange's part will lack any suitable definition."

Tudor must have appreciated the sincerity behind Severus's threat as her expression became that of a thwarted, spoiled child.

"Fine." Mary snarled.

Sizing her by the wrist, Severus led Tudor off and out of his room, grateful the potions was beginning to lose its effect on her appearance.

Severus audibly swept into the Slytherin common room dragging Mary Tudor along in her now reverted, usual form. Nearly all the eyes of the House members present stared at the scene with the 6th Years, whom were congregated on several couches, had the most affected expression. Glowering, Severus tugged Mary over towards her boyfriend and wrenched her near him. Aaron Lestrange had a lethal look and motioned to attack Severus until Mary gestured him to halt while glaring at their Prefect.

"Everyone of you whom is not a member of the 6th Year is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to leave the commons immediately." The House Prefect announced venomously to show he was leaving no option open for debate. Most within Slytherin didn't dare address Severus on normal occasions let alone when the sullen, human encyclopedia of vicious curses was already cross. Clearing out as fast as possible, those exempt left the 6th Years to face whatever had infuriated their usually moody Prefect so.

"What do you think you're doing to Mary?" Aaron demanded heatedly. He hated anyone other than himself touching Mary unless he gave his permission otherwise.

"Not even HALF of what I'd care to." Severus snapped back. "Your prank intended for Potter and Evans has been disposed of and I thought it would be prudent to make out Housemates acutely aware of what you were planning."

"Of course we know they're planning to break them up." Regius Avery noted obviously with a casual smile. "We have a small pot going on it for which day it happens."

Severus's neck jerked in Avery's direction.

"And did they inform you of what it entailed?" Severus wanted to know just how accountable the rest of their Year was in this fiasco.

"Not the details, no." Florence Copia admitted while seated next to Regius. "They said secrecy was a part of pulling it off. None of us thought anything of how Mary and Aaron were going to manage it; we were just interested in the bet."

"Wouldn't be the first cloak and daggers wager we've had, Severus." Winifred added with an expression of concern. "Why are you so bothered by this one?"

"Allow me to enlighten you." Severus offered as he launched into a synopsis of the Polyjuice plot Tudor and Lestrange had intended. The other 6th Years listened in silence to the specifics, some exchanging glance with others transfixed on Severus.

Once finished, Severus turned back to the defiant looking Lestrange and Tudor.

"Did you both believe this would be swept under the rug? That neither Potter nor Evans would care to mention that someone violated them courtesy of Polyjuice Potion? They're the golden pair of Hogwarts which means their list on enemies runs very short. How long would it take before suspicion was turned upon our House?" Severus snapped.

"How could they prove anything even if we had followed though?" Lestrange demanded. "Polyjuice makes for a hard ID."

"Not after an hour." Severus sneered. "And assuming you were mindful and had the opportunity to keep ingesting the potion, you're not as clever as you think you are. Do you think the administration, the Ministry, is without their means of revealing the guilty party? If they were, I very much suspect Polyjuice would be illegal to brew don't you, you arrogant prat! Or perhaps expulsion before probable incarceration was what you intended to be the punch line of this ill-conceived joke."

Mary and Aaron exchanged dark glances, indicating that they hadn't really considered that much past the humiliation of Potter and Evans. Severus turned his black eyes onto the rest of his Year as he addressed them.

"Regardless of what you think of me, I am still the Prefect of this House and I do not tolerate such flamboyantly stupid recklessness of its members." Severus reminded as though it were a threat.

"Which means you'll be running off to Heilsing now?" Mary snorted.

"I assure you both I'm greatly considering it." Severus glowered between Mary and Aaron. "However, Slytherin prides itself on keeping much of what transpires within its walls as in-House affairs. We are resourceful, independent, and we manage our own. We don't need Heilsing perched on our shoulders making sure we step in line nor do I care to report every problem to arise to her. It shows that we are all too mindless and ineffectual to be trusted with our own lives. That we need the supervision and coddling of those other Houses. I, for one, would like to assume that we are rational and capable of tending to our own House and the actions of its members without including the faculty every moment."

The 6th Years said nothing but appeared to agree with what Severus had to say. Slytherin had a sense of equilibrium to it as well as its own brand of justice. Part of being in Slytherin was knowing that someone was probably watching and that was typically more than enough incentive to watch one's step. Every action had an almost guaranteed reaction.

And, depending on the action, the reaction was harsh and memorable.

Slytherin kept itself in check.

It had to.

Usually no one batted an eyelash if a member of Slytherin was plotting against someone out of House. Slytherin was concerned with Slytherin, and few things otherwise. While Slytherin was ambivalent to any torment of the other three Houses, back-stabbing and betrayal within the House was always given notice and evaluated. Standard mores were:

1)Never do anything you aren't confident you'll be able to get away with. Internally or externally of Slytherin. Particularly internally.

2)Be aware of all your targets allies and bedfellows, otherwise you risk earning the ire of someone you might not be prepared to take on.

3)Never incriminate anyone who had no hand in your deeds.

4)Never do anything that will bring punishment/suspicion upon the entire House.

Without such a mindful monitoring, the entire House would fall under more scrutiny that it already was and no Slytherin relished such a prospect.

Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange couldn't get away with what they were plotting against Potter and Evans nor had they properly considered any allies they might have within Slytherin that would be offended by their actions. Their recklessness drew almost their entire Year onto the chopping block with them as complicated potions mixtures incriminated Severus and the past animosity of Macnair and Nott towards Potter and Evans would not be overlooked. Professor Heilsing, the Head of their House, would be on a warpath and all the members of all the Years of Slytherin would writhe under the crackdown.

Ergo, Tudor and Lestrange were in volition of all the cardinal rules of Slytherin. When dealing with all other Houses, Slytherin looked after their own. When dealing with their own House, Slytherin took care of their own.

"I think Severus might have a point in all this, Aaron." Regius Avery shrugged. "I'd hate to see you and Mary get expelled over a prank on Evans and Potter and it would be just bad for the House if Heilsing got mixed up in all this, which she would if you were found out."

"You sure you want to draw that line in the sand?" Aaron Lestrange narrowed his eyes on Regius.

"Not drawing any lines, Mate, I just think you got a bit hot-headed on this." Regius threw his hands up in a soothing manner.

Severus hadn't expected Avery to fold so quickly on the matter. It was doubtful he felt any sympathy on the matter towards Potter and Evans since he was an indifferent, misogynistic git more often than not and loathed taking any definitive side on any matter since neutrality spared him enemies. However, Avery was no fool. He probably recognized that Severus was holding all the cards and joining Tudor and Lestrange's defiance of him wouldn't benefit anyone.

Mary threw a traitorous look at Regius before turning to Winifred.

"Where do you stand on this, Winifred?" Mary demanded.

"Where do I always stand on matters like this, Mary?" Winifred's tone was matter-of-fact as she literally rose and took Severus's side.

Severus could always trust Winifred to support him on any contest of wills in Slytherin and she was a good ally to possess. While Winifred lacked the refined magical talent and brutal execution of Mary Tudor on most matters, the young girls within the House still looked up to the cool, precise Witch as much as Mary. Possible more so since Winifred could, in the least, feign civility if it was required of her. Apart from her social sway, Winifred was exacting, resourceful, and elusive in all her endeavors, making her an enemy not lightly taken on. Having Winifred assured security with the female population of the House.

"It would have been a wicked laugh if you had the chance to pull it off." Walden Macnair chuckled in the direction of Severus and Winifred as he walked over and slung his arms around Mary and Aaron to show his support of them. "I would have loved to seen the look on Potter and Evans faces; before, after, and DURING it all."

Mary, Aaron, and Walden smirked and laughed over the implications.

"Considering your recent 'romancing' of McGinnis and Meeks in a dark ally, why am I not surprised such a vulgar plan would amuse you." Winifred observed softly.

The other 6th Years glanced between Winifred and Walden.

"Just a little sport." Walden muttered glaring at Winifred.

"I can't recall a great many notions of 'sport' that involve cornering two women in an ally." Severus hissed.

Even Tudor and Lestrange were glaring at Macnair now.

"Why so appalled Aaron? Mary?" Severus sneered. "No better than what you had in store for Potter and Evans. Certainly no worse."

Lestrange and Tudor exchanged glanced between one another, apparently not appreciating their intentions being lumped in with common sex offenders. Although neither cared to contest the point.

For his part, Lestrange gave Severus the impression that he hadn't truly considered his and Tudor's prank to be quite so unseemly. He wasn't glancing to Mary anymore, only staring at Severus with a stony expression with his eyes wavering more than his aloof bluff would have liked.

Still, the sides were 3 to 3

Florence Copia said nothing as she crossed over near Avery, Winifred, and Severus. Initially, Severus hadn't been entirely certain Copia would take his position as he expected her to spite him just to be contrary. Winifred's presence probably helped, since the girls socialized more with each other than anyone else. Additionally, Winifred's character assassination of Macnair and its parallel with Tudor and Lestrange wasn't an entirely enticing side to be on.

Serpen Nott appeared torn by indecision, apparently attempting to decide what the power structure presently was. Snape had more people in agreement, but Mary and Aaron were always the leaders.

It didn't help that Snape, Tudor, Lestrange, and Wilkes ALL terrified him.

"Quit dawdling and step over here Serpen." Winifred ordered, attempting to knock Nott onto their side of the fence with bullying.

"Why should I?" Nott demanded almost frantically.

"Because right now I'm simply irritated with you." Winifred coolly replied. "And if you start condoning unwanted violation of people, I'm going to become cross. I'm fairly certain Severus feels the same."

Mary turned her eyes on Nott like a bird over its prey.

"Ask yourself Nott what thought will keep you awake longer at night: Their displeasure or mine and Aaron's?" Mary hissed.

Mary and Winifred took to staring one another down as Nott began to feel the crushing position of his spot between a rock and a hard place.

"Serpen." Winifred spoke without taking her eyes off Mary's. "Mary can offer you protection from me that she can't deliver. However I can offer you protection from me that I CAN assure."

Severus could only assume this was pertaining to Winifred's outstanding torment of Nott as of late; however it appeared to be more than enough to get him to take a few hesitant steps over in his and Winifred's direction. Hekate Undercross merely shrugged her broad shoulders at the display since it already appeared more than decided as she stepped over with the majority of her Year.

The lines had been drawn and the sides had been picked.

The 6th Year Slytherin said nothing as they stared at one another, remembering who had said what and who had chosen who. Wordlessly, the group broke apart. Lestrange and Tudor walking off towards the boys' dormitories as Copia and Undercross headed towards the girls'. Macnair prepared to skulk off while Avery and Nott seemed inclined to leave the dorms altogether for the main body of the castle.

"Macnair." Severus called him back.

The beastly boy halted and turned around with a contemptuous expression of both Severus and Winifred that they were more than happy to return.

"What now?" Macnair growled.

Severus turned to Winifred.

"Why ignite his shoes?" Severus questioned.

"Because they're as fair kindling as an oily rag." Winifred explained.

"Hmm." Severus gave a nod before pointing his wand at Macnair's feet.

"_Incendio."_

The tip of Severus wand turned into a blowtorch as it shot out at Macnair's foot, catching it aflame. Frantically, Macnair stomped his foot against the stone floor to extinguish the flames but not before releasing the foul stench of burnt leather and flesh. Collapsing to the ground, Macnair howled in agony as he winced at his charred foot.

Part of the act had been vindictive; however there was a preemptive quality to it as well. Macnair despised Severus but was doubly enraged by Winifred most likely. For initially stopping his fun at Hogsmeade and publicly shaming him with it today. Severus didn't want Macnair leaving with any plans to undermine him while making an example out of Winifred.

All the mind-games and plotting in the world didn't help his slender, female cousin if Macnair got the drop to her.

"Take him to Pomfrey." Severus instructed Avery and Nott. "Explain how he had a most unfortunate accident with a lantern and his oily shoes."

Avery and Nott said nothing as they helped Macnair out of the commons, but didn't appear to have any intention to undermine Severus's version of the events. Once alone, Severus turned to Winifred.

"I appreciated that, Winifred." He told her unnaturally.

"Oh I'm sure you could have managed a hot-foot without me." Winifred cocked her head. It was possible she was ignorant of why he was grateful just as much as it was possible she just wanted him to say it aloud.

Either would be entirely Winifred.

"No, not Macnair, though I imagine McGinnis and Meeks owe you a favorable boon. Without your skills at swaying opinion, I doubt I would have as successfully shamed Tudor and Lestrange today." Severus rationalized uncomfortably. "I doubt the rest would have sided against them."

Winifred smiled softly and mostly to herself.

"There are a great many things I would do on your behalf, Severus." Winifred informed her cousin. "And the vast majority of them would compel you to weep."

Severus couldn't be sure if he should be comforted or concerned by Winifred's words.

All he was certain of was that they were sincere.

"Still, it is regrettable you won't be able to torture Nott any longer." Severus smirked, referring to her barging with him.

"As though he won't find some means to provoke me all over again before the week is out?" Winifred smirked back.

"You never mentioned why you were upset with him in the first place." Severus raised an eyebrow.

Once again, Winifred smiled mostly to herself.

"It doesn't matter."

"I can't wait for this week to be over." Gwen McGinnis confessed with a sigh in the Great Hall during one mid march Saturday as she sat with the other 6th Years of her House, save for Remus and Arabella who were running late to lunch. "I always get antsy when holidays are teasing me on the horizon."

"Those two weeks off will be nice." Peter agreed.

"You are all going to be at my house for my birthday." It wasn't a question for Sirius. It was a guarantee. "It will be the best weekend bash this school has ever caught wind of!"

"Stop boasting, ye spoiled rich brat." Cassidy insisted with a smile. "We all said we'd come teh watch ye get an even bigger ego fer yer 17th birthday didn't we?"

"It's just good to hear nice things from you every so often, Luv." Sirius teased Cassidy.

Turning to James, Lily leaned into her hand as she chewed absently on a slice of apple.

"Where are you spending the holiday? With Sirius?" Lily inquired, realizing James hadn't mentioned it before. With no living relatives to go home to, Lily hoped James wasn't planning to head off to some lonely estate and dwell for the week and a half until Sirius's party.

"No, I'm staying with the Longbottoms at their flat in London." James corrected with the mention of his legal guardians. "I feel bad about not being there for winter holiday."

James stopped, smiling at Lily.

"Well, not too bad." He decided as he leaned over and kissed the love he had won over that same break.

"What's it going to be like not being joined at the hip?" Gwen prompted James and Lily while sipping her milk.

Turning to one another, it hadn't really occurred to either Lily or James that they would be spending almost two weeks without the company of the other. It would be odd not to head off to breakfast, wind down the afternoons, or cuddle in the evenings as they had been since the end of December.

"I imagine very awful." James answered Gwen's question a little too honestly.

What was he going to do?

Lily seemed to be having the same dilemma.

"Maybe I could mention something to my parents." Lily offered suddenly. "Ask if you could come over for an afternoon possibly. I'm sure they'd love the opportunity to get to know you better."

"Yeah! You mention it to your parents and I'll talk to Frank once you say it's alright." James's expression lit up. Not only would he get to see Lily earlier than he would otherwise but he'd be able to try and impress her parents. James wanted them to approve of him and he wasn't entirely sure if being associated with the Whomping Willow prank last January was the best foot to start off on. Determined to recover his balance, James added.

"I could meet your older sister too."

"Yes, Petunia." Lily nodded.

James thought he saw Lily straining her smile. Being an only child really left James out in the cold when it came to the complexities of sibling relations.

"Well, either way, I plan on writing you daily if not more." James assured.

"Me too." Lily agreed.

Breaking off from their conversation, Lily and James followed Peter and Sirius's eyes toward the entrance into the Hall. Observing Arabella and Remus as they entered into the dinning hall, their friends couldn't help but notice the expressions on their faces were warring between sullen and amused. Joining the rest of the 6th Years at the table, Remus and Arabella began dishing out their afternoon meals.

"What's with you two?" Gwen pried as usual.

"We both got detention from Professor Heilsing." Remus reported unimpressively. "Nothing that will tilt the world from its axis."

"What for?" Lily inquired.

"And does it have anything to do with Arabella's _creative_ method of buttoning her blouse?" Sirius gestured to the blonde's shirt.

All eyes fell on Arabella's hastily fastened blouse, which was wasn't lined up properly by two buttons and appeared to be more than disheveled. As a round of snickers erupted from the 6th Years and anyone else paying attention, Remus covered his face blushing and attempting not to laugh while Arabella joined him as she properly adjusted her shirt.

"Sirius, may I ask why you were even looking at my chest to notice THAT?" Arabella demanded shaking her head. Remus looked out from behind his hands and eyed Sirius in a manner that showed; he too, was interested in the answer to this.

"White draws the eye?" Sirius shrugged through his feeble excuse.

"Sleep with one eye open then, Mate." Remus advised with a grin.

"So where did you get caught?" James asked grinning, earning a shove from Lily for being a randy, nosy git.

"An empty classroom on the second floor." Arabella sighed, rolling her eyes. "We didn't really expect anyone to have a reason to head down that back corridor. I can't believe they give detentions for snogging."

"Judging from the state of yeh, girl, snogging would be implying something gentlemanly of the tryst." Cassidy smirked. "Yeh look like yeh were _mauled_ by Lupin."

Sirius and Cassidy broke up into nasty fits of laughter as everyone else either chuckled along or, in the case of Millicent, decided to fold her napkin awkwardly with pink cheeks. Arabella apparently was thinking over as to whether this was a more proper definition as Remus just sank his head into his folded arms and avoided all possible eye contact. His slightly shaking shoulders suggested he was either laughing or sobbing over this.

Finishing their lunch with some more good-natured teasing of Arabella and Remus followed by a daring round of "why aren't WE snogging in empty classrooms?" from James to Lily. Sirius and Peter got in on the joke by demanding the same of one another. Sirius decided it was because he needed someone a bit taller which Peter countered with his preference of blondes, like Sirius's sister Acontiae. Choosing to shove a cluster of grapes down the back of Peter's shirt and repeatedly slapping at them for a rebuttal, Sirius ended the group's lunch on a bizarre and juvenile note (even for him), the Gryffindors left their House table with the intention of letting Peter change his shirt.

"Snogging in an empty classroom. Good to see my bad influence is finally rubbing off on you." Sirius commented wistfully with a toothy grin to Remus as he wiped his hands off on his pants. "Outstanding work, Moony!"

"Stow it, Sirius, I'm not out to impress you." Remus reported with a smirk.

"Outstanding work, Remus." Arabella smiled knowingly which Remus returned in kind.

"Now SHE is an ENTIRELY different matter altogether." Remus gestured towards his girlfriend before taking her hand.

"I'll wager it was worth a detention with Professor Heilsing then, Arebella?" Lily smiled to her friend.

"Worth several." Arabella replied.

The 6th Year Gryffindor's laughter was broken up when Bill Weasley along with some winded looking younger Years charged up the main corridor and stopped in front of James and the rest.

"You guys won't believe it!" Bill exclaimed breathlessly with the other Gryffindor 2nd Years behind him. "Someone tied that troll Macnair to the Whomping Willow and now it's thrashing about trying to get at him like an itch on its back!"

Everyone within earshot burst out laughing over the mental image of this scene and a few started racing out to see for themselves. The Gryffindor 6th Years followed along with the crowd outside so as not to appear too conspicuous. They beamed knowing smiles at one another.

Even Millicent Meeks.

"Bloody hell! How did THAT happen?" Sirius feigned surprise as he turned to his friends grinning.

"You'll have to look more innocent than that if McGonagall asks about it, Padfoot." James noted, but shared a pleased smile with the rest of the Marauders.

True to Weasley's word, Macnair was bound to the trunk of the magical tree, futilely attempting to work himself loose while the tree futilely attempted to work Macnair over. Joining the rest of the students who were witnessing and laughing at the spectacle, Lily spotted Severus Snape amongst them staring hard at Macnair with a smirk as Winifred laughed beside him.

"Don't you think we should mention this to one of the Professors?" Lily asked Severus as she approached him.

Severus took his eyes off the display to acknowledge the real Lily Evans with her charming air and disarming smile.

The kind no facsimile could ever quite replicate because it lacked her sincerity.

"No." Severus decided as he turned back to, most likely, Potter and the rests version of karma. "I have a ten galleon bet going with Winifred on whether the Willow catches hold of him within the next five minutes."

That afternoon seemed to set the tone for the spring holiday that would soon come with their 6th Year.

Warm and memorable, with a few unanticipated events.

Prosaic Ordinary, lacking unique appeal. Thought it would be interesting for a Muggle Studies Prof.


	28. Last Certain Breaths

Last Certain Breaths

By: Oy! Angelina

"Something's going on with the Slytherins." Sirius Black decided as he and the other Gryffindor 6th Years lounged near the shore of the Hogwarts lake.

It was Friday afternoon, the day before all the students were expected to head home for spring holiday. Procrastinating on packing since the afternoon was too lovely to waste organizing luggage, Sirius and his friends soaked in the welcoming early spring air under the shade of a tree. A sentiment shared by a few other students who mimicked their actions.

"Something's _always_ going on with the Slytherins." Remus noted unimpressively. "More so, you're always suspicious of them."

"With good cause!" Sirius exclaimed defensively.

"Well Sirius isn't being his usual paranoid prat-like self on this, I've noticed it to." James interjected from his reclined position on the grass

"Thanks, Mate!" Sirius stood up and patted James on the abdomen roughly, causing his friend to grunt, before climbing into the tree they were lounging under.

"Yeah they've been a little off all week." Arabella nodded while teasing her kitten Bast with her a dandelion. "I think they're ignoring Tudor and Lestrange."

"You sure those two aren't just ignoring everyone else?" Peter challenged. "They're really snobby and self-involved."

"If that was the reason then everyone in Slytherin would be ignoring everyone else." Gwen decided while French-braiding Lily's long hair for the bored amusement of it.

"Wonder what yeh have teh do teh get hated in Slytherin." Cassidy stretched.

"It's not really our concern." Millicent shrugged from behind her book. "Not like we're friends with Tudor or Lestrange and we certainly aren't in Slytherin."

"Millicent Meek, you're such a proper and sensible girl." Sirius hooked his legs over a thick branch in the tree and dangled like a smirking bat.

Millicent blushed slightly.

"Thank you, Sirius." She mumbled.

"Probably why yeh don't flirt with her like all the others." Cassidy guessed.

"You don't hit on girls like Millie; you court them." Sirius reported. "Anything else is vulgar and an insult to their character. My daddy taught me that."

"What did your mummy teach you then?" James prompted.

"Hit on everything that moves no less than twice!" Sirius chuckled with the blood rushing to his head. "As you can see it's a major conflict of interests."

"I don't believe I've heard of anyone's mother instructing them to sow their wild oats." Lily laughed, wondering what it would be like to meet Mrs. Black in person at Sirius's party.

"Sirius is Madeline Black's little prince." James informed, all too aware of Sirius's usual home life.

"Only son and baby of the family, Sirius could blow up a wing of their home and Mrs. Black will go one about what a perfect son she has." Peter snorted. "Wish MY mum would take a page from that book!"

"Yeah, Mrs. Black is convinced that girls only hit on her charming and handsome son while he does nothing to instigate it whatsoever." Remus chuckled at the lunacy of the statement.

"I'm a victim of my own raw, sexual charisma." Sirius sighed tragically.

"You're going to be a victim of massive trauma to your head once you fall on it." Arabella nodded to Sirius's precarious position. "Of course it's probably big enough to save your skin."

Giving himself a bit of momentum, Sirius swung off the branch and landed on his feet in a deft dismount. The girls offered a mild applause for his spry feat as the boys rolled their eyes. Only took Sirius five years to nail the maneuver as, before late 5th Year, Sirius never quite managed his landings as he would have liked.

"It was much more entertaining when he'd fall on his arse." James decided.

"Look, Millie, a bunny!" Sirius pointed off, causing Millicent and a few of the other girls' heads to jerk in the opposite direction as he performed an obscene gesture for James's benefit.

Not seeing any bunny, the girls turned back to Sirius who shrugged.

"Perhaps it was just a fuzzy 1st Year." Sirius started to walk off towards the castle.

"Where are you off to?" James demanded.

"Wander around the castle a bit before I take to packing." Sirius said listlessly. "Maybe do my Mum proud, I don't know. See you back at the tower."

"It's so nice that Sirius will be going home to have his ego further stroked." Lily joked.

"Not if Acontiae is there." Peter grinned knowingly.

"Did you talk to your parents about me seeing you over break?" James turned to face Lily, hopeful in her response.

"Yes, I did." Lily smiled. "They said they'd love to have you over for dinner at some point."

"Great!" James beamed. "So I'll get to see the Muggle world close up? Last time I did that I was with my parents. I remember it being really different. Sort of quaint. I'll finally be able to apply all those conversation topics we're always going on about in Muggle Studies!"

"Yeah, be sure to discuss the sexual revolution they have going on there, James." Remus encouraged jokingly. "Parents love to talk about that sort of thing with their daughter's boyfriend."

"Shouldn't you be in an empty classroom getting detention or something, Remus?" James teased back.

Arabella shot James a pointed look.

"You know you're technically making fun of me too here." Arabella informed.

"Not at all, Arabella!" James insisted. "I blame Remus entirely for his ungentlemanly regard of you. It's always the man's fault in these sorts of things, poor impulse control and the like. Sirius Black is our working spokesman."

Remus kicked some dirt onto James's robes with the heel of his foot in response to his accusations.

"See if you're going to carry on like this, I might not be able to have you over." Lily laughed at her boyfriend.

"You know I'm always on my best behavior for you." James smiled as he took Lily's hand.

"That's a bloody lie if I ever heard one!" Lily declared.

"Yes but its far simpler matter if we all just believe in the lie." James pointed out as he leaned back and rested his head in Lily's lap. She simply rolled her green eyes and patted him on the head.

It was the faint hum of a string melody that lured Sirius towards the North tower of Hogwarts castle. He ascended into it until he reached the conservatory and spied Winifred Wilkes seated with a cello positioned in front of her. Her eyes were closed and her expression was so serene that Sirius might have thought she was asleep if she hadn't been working the bow over the strings to purposefully.

Not wanting to interrupt her but uncomfortable with the idea of just staring at Wilkes, Sirius debated his options as he continued to listen to her play a particularly mournful piece of music.

Wilkes was an odd girl, the least qualification for this being her thin-blooded relation to Severus Snape. She was always sort of quiet, content to be a voyeur of the world around her as she kept a constantly amused look on her face. Of all the Slytherins in their Year, Sirius found Wilkes to be the least offensive and most elusive. Sirius felt like he knew the other Slytherin's personalities and motivations pretty well, he had to so as not to be caught off-guard by them. Wilkes gave Sirius little to go on in general, aside from her attachment to Snape and aloof air.

Whether the case, her music suggested something sad resided in Wilkes.

"Who taught you to play?" Sirius finally decided to speak.

Winifred stopped in mid note and turned towards the doorway where Sirius was standing. Surprise betrayed her usually detached expression upon seeing him there.

Sirius didn't think he ever saw Wilkes caught by surprise before.

"Severus's Mother." Wilkes replied resuming her usual composure.

"Does Snape play too?" Sirius strolled into the room.

"Looking for something new to taunt him with?" Wilkes inquired.

"Depends on how bad he is at it." Sirius smirked.

"Severus appreciates music, however doesn't perform." Wilkes answered. "Why are you up here?"

"Should I be somewhere else?" Sirius asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Wilkes confessed.

"Mine either." Sirius sympathized. "Come up here often?"

"Typically only for Divinations, but I felt bored so I decided to amuse myself." Wilkes explained.

"Story of my life." Sirius nodded.

"Yes, well your stories traditionally shape up to be cautionary tales don't they?" Wilkes smiled.

Sirius chuckled.

"Mine is one a many misadventure." Sirius agreed.

"Why are you speaking with me?" Wilkes raised an eyebrow. "You have to know you shouldn't be."

Sirius's eyebrow and the corner of his mouth raised slightly. What was it about being forbidden to do something that made it all the more appealing?

"May I ask why you and I aren't on speaking terms?" Sirius pressed the subject.

"Because my cousin hates you." Winifred specified.

"Yeah, that sounds like Tybalt." Sirius recalled a different conversation, with a different person, in the same conservatory. Winifred glanced over at Sirius quizzically, prompting him to shrug. "Muggle reference."

Winifred nodded as she resumed playing the cello. Casually making his way over to the piano, Sirius couldn't help but notice that, for someone who shouldn't be talking to him Winifred wasn't putting in much of an effort to ignore him either.

"So is that the only reason I shouldn't be talking to you? Because of things between me and Snape?" Sirius demanded.

"I didn't suspect you'd have any reason to." Wilkes replied. "Unless you're just looking to antagonize Severus through me."

"Trust me; I don't need to go through you to antagonize Snape. I'd be worried about my creativity on the subject if I did." Sirius informed.

Sirius sat himself in front of the piano and began to play along with Wilkes's music. He wasn't certain of the piece she was playing but didn't find it all that hard to find the melody of the cello with the keys. Wilkes appeared slightly impressed by his finesse with a piano but didn't comment on his playing.

"I have to ask, why did you help me out in the Potions brawl with Avery?" Sirius spoke aloud thoughtfully. "Not that I a) don't appreciate it or b) couldn't have handled it on my own but it just didn't seem very much like -"

"A thing for a Slytherin to do?" Wilkes guessed.

"Actually, I was just going to say it didn't seem like you." Sirius corrected.

"And what would you know about me?" Wilkes prompted.

"Nothing actually. I mean, I know SOME things, but not a whole lot." Sirius went on. "You're pretty good about keeping to yourself and out of my hair."

"Which you should have trimmed up, by the way." Wilkes decided.

"Nah, I'm going for a casual appeal. It's all I have against James's boy-next door image and Remus's rugged good-looks." Sirius smirked. "Now Snape is a man who could use some helpful hints about hair care! Maybe he could get a brooding sophisticate thing going with a bit of clean up."

Wilkes shook her head a smiled slightly.

"You still haven't answered my question." Sirius observed.

"I thought you'd be familiar with the concept of behaving 'coy' Black." Wilkes mused.

"We can get off topic in a minute, why did you help me?" Sirius wouldn't let up.

"It sounds like you're expecting a certain reason." Wilkes noted.

"I don't know what to expect from you, Wilkes." Sirius admitted.

"I was cross at Regius for something he said to me earlier." Wilkes justified. "I wanted an excuse to hex him and that happened to be a convenient opportunity."

"I would have also accepted 'because you were devilishly handsome' but I suppose that's a fair reason." Sirius joked.

"Are you flirting with me or yourself?" Wilkes questioned.

"I'm fully capable of multi-tasking, Luv." Sirius quipped on.

"Well, seeing as you only have a chance with one of us I figured you might not want to spread yourself too thin if you can help it." Wilkes coolly stated as she stopped playing her cello and set it off to the side.

Sirius removed his hands from the keys and placed them in his pockets as he rose from his bench.

This was a lot more entertaining than packing.

"Out of curiosity, why _don't_ I have a shot with you?" Sirius smirked broadly. "Furthermore, what makes you think _you_ even have a shot with _me_?"

Wilkes stood up and folded her arms across her chest as the stared at Sirius with an amused expression. Sirius wasn't entirely sure if the Slytherin girl was internally laughing _at_ or _with_ him. She turned on her heel, tossing her layers of dark brunette hair behind her as she walked out of the room.

Sirius strode along after her until he was walking at her side.

"You're making a bad habit of not answering my simple questions." Sirius pointed out.

"Fine then." Wilkes relented. "Firstly, you don't have any prospects with me because you're the knut a dozen sort of boy who thinks he's the gods' gift to women because he's cuter than average and fully aware of it. Lastly, I know I have a shot with you because EVERY attractive and arguably eligible girl in this school has a shot with you."

Sirius wasn't certain of whether he should be offended or amused by the banter.

"So you think I'm cute?" Sirius opted for the later.

Wilkes appeared as though she were stifling a laugh behind her lips.

"I'm not blind, Black." Wilkes reminded. "Of course, I'm not foolish either which is why I'm ending this conversation."

"Hey, it was just getting good." Sirius protested softly, meeting her dark eyes with his pale ones.

"Because it was about you?" Wilkes wagered.

"Exactly." Sirius grinned as he noticed he and Wilkes had arrived at a fork in the corridor with one route leading to Gryffindor Tower and the other to the Slytherin dormitories in the dungeons. Wilkes turned to face Sirius as a polite gesture before bidding her farewell.

"I should talk with you more often, Wilkes." Sirius determined. "I like a girl who can hold up a decent conversation."

"I didn't know you were becoming so selective all of a sudden." Wilkes cocked her head to the side. "You won't be able to make your weekly quota if you keep putting on stipulations like this."

"See this isn't really fair." Sirius pulled his hand out of his pocket to wag a chiding finger at Wilkes. "You think you know enough about me to come up with all these colorful comments on my character but I don't know enough about you to bite back."

"Not really my problem is it." Wilkes shrugged.

"I reckon I'll just have to keep talking to you until I find out enough to be on equal footing." Sirius shrugged back.

"That's not a good idea." Wilkes's smile flickered and faded.

"You'll forgive me for not being discouraged since I was never really big on those anyway." Sirius grinned.

"The body of my House would throw a large celebration if you met some horrible end, Black, with Severus stringing up the decorations. And it's not as though Gryffindors see that far past the colors of silver and green." Wilkes frowned. "Be practical and don't push your luck before you make trouble for the both of us."

Sirius smiled and nodded as he listened to Wilkes words.

"I think you know enough about me to know Slytherin don't scare me off." Sirius stated. "And I might not know worlds about you, Miss Wilkes, but I know one thing: You do what you want and don't give a damn what people think about you. See you around then."

With that, Sirius turned on his heel and headed off towards his House dormitories. After walking for a few moments with only his thoughts for company Sirius found himself in front of the Fat Lady Portrait.

"Willow-Bound." Sirius spoke, amused with Lily's sense of humor for making up passwords.

The Portrait entrance swung open.

"Out of interest, what is it you're grinning so goofily about." The Fat Lady inquired.

"Just debating how far I'm willing to go to make a short point." Sirius reported.

"My guess is pretty far with you, Sirius."

Sirius laughed as he stepped into the Gryffindor commons.

"So what's the going punishment for getting caught snogging in the Castle?" James asked Remus as they attempted to stuff their carrying trunks in an orderly manner in their dorm. Peter was procrastinating on the task by offering to fetch them some sweets from the kitchen and Sirius had yet to meander on in leaving James and Remus more than enough privacy to chat.

"I had to write out 'I will not publicly display my affections for Arabella Figg' 600 times by quill. One hundred for every Year we were and, therefore, should have known better. Arabella had the same, but with my name." Remus shook his head.

"Bloody hell that's tedious." James breathed sympathetically.

"Yeah, the worst part was the lecture of Professor Heilsing's utter disappointment in me." Remus groaned before becoming slightly crossed. "She spared Arabella it, which makes me a bit upset because it implies she expects this sort of thing from her and Arabella's not that kind of girl."

"I can sort of see where Heilsing's coming from." James confessed, clarifying quickly under Remus's harsh look. "Not to say anything against Arabella, mind you, but I just didn't expect you hear about you in some empty class with a girl."

"Probably would have agreed with you about six months ago." Remus admitted. "It's different with Arabella though. She's so extroverted it's infectious. I don't think that girl has a single thought in her head that she doesn't vocalize or act upon."

"So I take it things are going well between you two?" James grinned, happy for his friend.

"Phenomenally so." Remus nodded, grinning as well. "Now that Arabella knows exactly what I am, I don't have to be the least bit guarded with her. I don't have to constantly wonder if I'm taking advantage of the situation or misleading her into something she might regret. Arabella's with me for the best and the worst of whatever that happens to be so anything that happens between us. . . I guess I don't have to worry and wonder if it's right anymore than the average chap."

"So then you're thinking about. . . possibly. . ." James purposefully trailed off as he gaped at his friend.

Remus got slightly red and shifted a bit. Checking to make sure that Sirius Black wasn't about to burst straight into the room to make an awkward conversation even more awkward, Remus mimicked James's usual twitch and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sixteen James. . . the thought's crossed my mind." Remus laughed nervously. "But acting on it is an entirely different scenario altogether. I'm just happy to be with Arabella and I'm not particularly demanding on how we spend that time. And since I don't need to wonder how famously the two of you are getting along, I could probably ask the same question of you and Lily."

Remus grinned like a prat as he threw James's own inquiry back at him.

"We haven't really discussed anything like that yet." James explained, sitting on his bed. "We'll be having our three month anniversary soon and that's about the longest relationship either of us has been in. I'm kind of forced to play it all by ear and I'm desperately terrified that I'll do something astonishingly stupid to ruin everything."

"I marvel at your ability to over think things, James." Remus shook his head as he resumed packing. "Go with your good instincts on this; if it doesn't feel right don't follow through."

"Well that's what I did Christmas." James said thoughtfully.

"Christmas? What happened then?" Remus asked.

"Oh." James wagered he might have said too much on the subject. "Well, nothing. Nothing regrettable at least."

Remus developed a knowing expression as he could take a guess.

"I reckon you'll do fine by Lily on this James." Remus assured with a smile.

The conversation came to a halt as Sirius entered the room with a goofy, self-satisfied expression painted across his face. Remus and James had to assume there was some cause for it as they turned their attentions onto their mutual friend.

"He's got the same expression a cat has when it catches hold of a mouse!" Remus observed with a laugh. "Okay, what did you do now Sirius?"

"Nothing!" Sirius insisted still grinning manically. "Why am I always up to something?"

"Because you're always up to something." James obviously stated, before turning to Remus. "Okay, does that look like a 'I just pulled a mad stunt that's going to have McGonagall bellowing for me in 30 seconds' smirk or a 'I was just snogging some attractive peer of mine that will only contribute more to the wildly fabricated rumors of my prowess with women' smirk?"

"I have to pick just one?" Remus whined.

"You really do assume the worst of me at this point don't you?' Sirius noted, still smiling as he dragged his trunk onto his bed and readied packing it. "Ah, my clever lads."

"You're not going to crow on about this?" James said skeptically.

"Nothing to crow on about." Sirius shrugged. "I just talked with Wilkes for a bit."

Remus and James caught one another's deliberate glances.

"What?" Sirius caught them too.

"Just talked?" Remus repeated.

"Yup." Sirius nodded. "I am capable of just speaking to a girl, you realize."

"Still, maybe it's not a good idea to chit-chat with Snape's cousin. He gets really weird about Wilkes." James advised. "Like you get with your sisters. You said so yourself that it would be pretty slimy of you to get at Snape though his cousin."

"Relax!" Sirius insisted with a laugh. "Bloody hell, you act like I'm picking out the names for our children."

Pulling open his draws, Sirius shot a look over at Remus.

"What DO you think of the names Castor and Pollux if I have boys?"

More exchanged glances. Sirius rolled his eyes and faced his friends.

"You know, this reminds me of a story." Sirius mused to his friends. "It starts out something like 'Once upon a time, Moony and Prongs could TAKE A JOKE!'"

"Are you kidding though?" James demanded. "Wasn't it 4th Year that you were interested in her a bit, before you found out she was Snape's cousin that is?"

"You remember the most inane details about my life, James." Sirius shook his head as he resumed packing. "Wilkes seems like the hard sort to thaw out. That and her game playing would probably just have me chasing my tail if I even considered it. That's not even bringing into conversation that she's a Slytherin AND Snape's cousin, ensuring there would be hell to catch for it! The fruit doesn't get anymore forbidden than Winifred Wilkes."

Remus and James returned to their packing, sharing a similar awareness of their friend and his attitudes towards an indomitable challenge. Like a child, the more you told Sirius he couldn't have something the more he wanted it. And the more obstacles you threw out in his path, the harder he tried to overcome them.

It was a gallant and stupid quality of Sirius Black.

"Memory Charms."

Aaron Lestrange slammed the lid of his trunk shut so he could look at his girlfriend, presently sprawled out at the head of his bed.

"Pardon?" Aaron questioned as he waved his wand to levitate it over by the rest of his belongings to return home with him.

"Memory Charms." Mary Tudor's throaty voice repeated. "That's how we could have gotten away with ruining Evans and Potter. I was too committed to them being humiliated. I think I could have lived with knowing I shagged Evans perfect little boyfriend for her even if she didn't."

Aaron wasn't entirely sure he could have lived with that.

Potter touching Mary.

Aaron felt like killing the scruffy haired git at the mere thought of it.

"So are we going to try for it again with a slight revision?" Aaron inquired as he joined Mary on the bed.

The beauty of being ostracized by the rest of Slytherin was it left more time for him and Mary to be alone. He crept over to her in a predatory fashion, running his hand through Mary's straight black locks and loving the feeling of them pouring between his fingers. She propped herself up a bit on one arm to bring her face closer to his. Mary smiled.

It was a gentle smile that only Aaron ever saw.

He liked knowing that.

"No." Mary decided.

"Good." Aaron murmured as he started to slowly kiss Mary's neck in teasing motions of his mouth. He bit into her flesh a bit, hoping to leave an obvious mark to know Mary was taken. He was sure to linger close to her ears so she could hear him. "The thought of being with Evans . . . it turned my stomach."

"People are always going on about how pretty she is." Mary stated in a husky voice as she closed her eyes. "Are you saying you don't subscribe to that?"

"No." Aaron sneered a bit against her mouth as he started to kiss her. "That repulsive _Muggle_ look of hers. How could I desire THAT over you?"

"Then why were you willing to go through with it?" Mary wondered as she pushed her hands through Aaron's dark wavy hair, disturbing its traditionally perfectly groomed state.

"Because I love you." Aaron reasoned. "And I'd do anything you asked me to."

"I love you too." Mary whispered back. "That's why you don't have to touch that disgusting Mudblood to strangle her."

"I imagine we're not giving up on putting those self-righteous Gryffindors in there place are we?" Aaron affirmed as he eased Mary back onto the bed and positioned himself over her, tracing his fingers along the buttons down the front of her blouse.

"Don't worry, Aaron." Mary smiled reassuringly as she moved her hands over his face. "The only future Potter and Evans have together is if they share the same urn."

Mary could make the most morbid pillow talk so completely stimulating for Aaron as he leaned in to desperately kiss her.

Passion and plotting.

Aaron knew this was the perfect relationship for him. The perfect woman for him.

"We'll have to wait until Severus's eye is off us." Aaron warned as he and Mary continued their foreplay.

"Severus should watch his own back." Mary hissed half in pleasure, half in anger. "No one usurps me like that. His and Winifred's little coup has just offered Potter and Evans a momentary reprieve."

Aaron moved his eyes to Mary's as he continued to run his hands over the length of her frame.

"That will require something very clever." Aaron mused. "They're not like Potter and Evans, ignorant of their own shadows. Winifred treats people like pieces of wizard's chess, putting them into position so they can have it out for her amusement and Severus notices EVERYTHING. It was so obnoxious rooming with him for five years."

"That bitch Winifred." Mary glowered. Aaron could feel her tensing beneath him, but it was only partially attributed to anger. "She thinks her precious cousin will keep protecting her, that pathetic little tag along."

Mary was unintentionally starting to take her frustrations out on Aaron as he nails raked his flesh.

Aaron didn't entirely mind.

"She probably loves him, you know." Aaron breathed. "Maybe it's mutual. You can never tell with Severus. There might be something there to work with, to turn them on one another."

"All you have to do is wind Winifred up and let her go." Mary giggled between her own thoughts and what Aaron was presently doing to her. "She hates her darling Severus paying attention to something other than her. We just need to find something Severus cares about, make him want it more than anything in the world, and then make Winifred threatened by it. She'll make him miserable and he'll hate her forever for doing so. Then they'll both be sad and disjointed."

"We can't break them though." Aaron cautioned, feeling suddenly burdened by his shirt. "Severus still has certain obligations to our Lord and Winifred's useful leverage against the scowling prat."

"And, in spite of every inane thing Severus picks up on, he doesn't even know it." Mary grinned.

"That Winifred would follow him into Hell just to be in his shadow?" Aaron smiled back. "No he doesn't."

Taking hold of Aaron's limp tie, Mary dragged his face closer to her own. Her expression became even more suggestive than it already was.

"I don't feel like talking anymore."

Aaron obliged by kissing Mary again.

Lily wrapped gently on the door to the 6th Year girls' bedroom before entering. Only Cassidy Kinkade was present as the dark-skinned girl worked with her luggage.

"I was just about to see if you all wanted to head to supper." Lily announced.

"Well yeh missed the boat." Cassidy reported. "Gwen, Millie, and Arabella ran off with the boys ahead of us."

"Nice to know where I stand with James!" Lily huffed at her boyfriend's failure to invite her along.

Cassidy just laughed.

"Yer pathetic, Lily." Cassidy decided. "Yer relationship with James is so perfect yeh have teh invent problems as yeh go along. The boy's probably just trying teh keep up his strength so he can keep snogging ye or whatever yer up teh by now."

Lily felt very awkward on the subject of James with Cassidy. Her imagination had been fevered and relentless with each new clue and mystery to arise regarding Cassidy and James's past. Lily shifted her weight to her other foot as she stepped closer to Cassidy almost tentatively.

"If I could ask something." Lily meekly began, catching Cassidy's attention. "What went on with you and James? Not the generalities that you said in front of the other girls, but what happened while you saw each other and why did you break up?"

Cassidy eyed Lily, showing that she had not expected to be having this conversation. Groaning, Cassidy stomped her foot.

"I told him he shouldn't have let this fester, but that wanker doesn't listen teh anything other than his own voice!" Cassidy fumed to herself, before calming down and addressing Lily. "Why didn't yeh go teh James on this?"

"I tried; a couple of times." Lily explained. "Either I can't get the words out as I'd like to or he just dodges the issue. I figured there was no harm if I tried talking about it with you. After all, you were a part of it."

Cassidy sighed as she glanced toward the bedroom door. Removing her wand, Cassidy waved it a couple of times to place a locking and silencing charm on it. Lily offered an expectant look to Cassidy as she returned her wand to her robes. A knot began tugging at her stomach as Lily knew that Cassidy wouldn't be taking so many precautions unless there really was some big secret to all this.

"I don't much fancy anyone listening in on my conversations and Gwen has the habit of popping up when I don't expect her teh." Cassidy rationalized. "That's how this whole thing started with me, yeh, and James and it really shouldn't have ever gotten out like that."

"But it is. And it keeps bothering me when I don't want or expect it to." Lily replied. "It's not that I think that anything is still going on with you and James, that's not what I'm suggesting at all. But I still find myself getting jealous because I don't know. I don't know what happened between the two of you."

"Why is it any of yer business?" Cassidy shrugged. She didn't sound like she was offended, simply curious by Lily's preoccupation with the subject.

"It's not, that's why I feel horrible." Lily adverted her eyes. "I know what went on with you and James has nothing to do with James and I now but it's like I'm not sure of where I stand with him in relation to you."

"He's gone daft with love fer yeh." Cassidy informed with a smirk. "Not that he wasn't pretty daft teh begin with. . ."

Lily had to smile.

"So you're saying it shouldn't matter." Lily nodded.

"But it does." Cassidy observed sympathetically. "So yeh might as well ask me whatever it is on yer mind."

"Did you and James ever. . ." Lily felt her words trail off reluctantly. It was hard for her to finish the sentence. She had no idea how Cassidy would react. She had no idea what Cassidy's answer would be.

But Lily had to know.

"Did you and James ever sleep together?"

It looked like, for just a moment, Cassidy stopped breathing.

Staring hard at Lily, Cassidy appeared to be debating what her reaction should be. Turning away from Lily slightly. Cassidy covered her mouth with her hand. Lily watched her, uncertain if Cassidy was stunned silent, preparing to launch into some lengthy explanation, or if she was about just start crying.

Lily hadn't expected Cassidy to start laughing.

Let alone quite so hard.

To the point of tears.

Now Lily felt even more uncomfortable by the situation as she stood with a doubled over Cassidy Kinkade who was howling with laugher, evidently at the thought of sleeping with James. Lily wasn't sure if the scenario of Cassidy and James's relationship provoked the fits of laughter or just the thought of sleeping to James altogether.

Regardless, Lily was taking this as a "no" to her question.

"Sorry 'bout that!" Cassidy gasped out as she attempted to straighten herself up, still grinning. "No, no, no! Potter and I never did ANYTHING like that. Seriously Lily, it was only a bit of snogging and nothing past it."

"Then what's the big secret!" Lily demanded exasperatedly. "Why are you off whispering together about what you should or should not tell me? Why can't I get a straight answer? What is James hiding about all this?"

"Just something he and I have in common." Cassidy's expression started to sober with the conversation.

"Which is?" Lily led in.

"That we both like girls." Cassidy finished.

Lily paused as the significance of those words stuck her like a wave against the sand. Cassidy appeared to be studying her reaction for any violent change. Lily wasn't entirely sure what show she was offering to the taller girl, but she was relatively certain there was a fair amount of shock on her face. Lily couldn't quite peg which was making her uncomfortable: the notion of it or the sudden awareness of it.

"So you're. . . I mean." Lily fought for words.

"Lesbian? Yeah." Cassidy nodded a bit awkwardly.

"I had no clue." Lily confessed numbly.

"That's kind of the idea." Cassidy reassured. "James knows, and my family, but other than that I just don't bring it up one way or another."

Lily recognized this as true. She had never heard Cassidy mention any interest in being attracted to anyone in all her years of knowing her and was always quick to duck out of the conversation when it was brought up. Suddenly, Lily's mind begin recalling the past six years with Cassidy, wondering if she had ever said or done anything that might have been insensitive to Cassidy's lifestyle ignorantly.

"How long have you been . . . when did you know? " Lily asked finding her sentences to be growing more stupid sounding by the moment.

It was no consolation that Cassidy didn't seem to know how to answer this question.

"I reckon always." Cassidy attempted. Lily kept her eyes on Cassidy to show that her friend had her full attention as Cassidy struggled to go on.

"When we started the get around the age, 3rd. . . 4th Year, and yeh, Arabella, and Gwen would sit around giggling about boys I just realized that I didn't know what yeh were talking about. I wasn't like Millie where I was being bashful about it, I just wasn't worried about what boys were thinking of about me or whether they wanted teh kiss me or something. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing. What threw me fer a loop was when Sirius started making sense teh me."

"Sirius?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah, Black would chatter on about some pretty or charming girl and I found myself agreeing whole-heartedly with him. And it wasn't like I was just acknowledging it like the obvious, I was FEELING it. I didn't know how teh think about that because . . . well, I thought girls were supposed teh go with boys. That's what everyone else was talking about, anyway."

"Why didn't you ever mention it to us?" Lily felt a bit hurt by this. Partially because it sounded like Cassidy didn't trust her or the other girls to understand or accept her and partially because she couldn't be there for her friend when Cassidy had needed her support.

"I though. . . I thought I was just abnormal." Cassidy said quietly. "I never said this but the Sorting Hat was considering putting me in Slytherin back in 1st Year. I never knew why it thought I should be there. Then, when we were a bit older and those rumors would go around about the things Slytherins do behind closed doors, I thought that's what the hat meant. That it knew there was something wrong with me and wanted teh put me where I belonged with the rest of the deviants."

Lily frowned as she stepped closer to Cassidy.

"There's nothing wrong with you."

Lily recognized she truly meant that.

"Well, fer a while I thought there was." Cassidy reported glumly.

It was unnatural to see Cassidy so vulnerable as she did that moment.

"Is that why you kissed James?" Lily was starting to make sense of it all. "To fit in?"

"Yeah." Cassidy sighed.

"I wasn't trying teh use him or anything. I did like Potter. Funny, smart, looked out fer people. I felt everything fer him except fer some kind of physical attraction, thought maybe I wasn't trying hard enough and if I just gave James a chance then maybe I would be like all the other girls and happy teh run about with all the other boys. He seemed teh like me so one day after practice we were talking and we ended up snogging a bit until Gwen caught us."

"After I got done making Gwen promise teh keep her mouth shut, I realized that kissing James . . . it didn't feel like I thought it would. It was like I was just going through the motions and they really didn't mean anything. So I told James it was a mistake and it couldn't happen again, hoping that would be the end of it."

Lily had to chuckle at Cassidy sincerely believing James Potter, the master of persistence, would just drop anything.

Cassidy started to laugh as well.

"I know; I was naïve." Cassidy grinned. "Potter, the prat he was, started dogging me everywhere I went, wanting teh know what was wrong. He was trying teh figure if it was because he was my team Captain or if I was just embarrassed because of Gwen catching us in the act. After a week of this, I finally just fessed-up that it had nothing teh do with him and explained my situation. James took it well and has spent the past year being about as supportive on it as he could. He's always been grand about helping teh keep it a secret. Discouraging guys who are interested in me and stopping rumors as he heard them, that sort of thing."

Lily felt herself smiling inwardly and outwardly at James's understanding and how great of friend he had been to Cassidy without anyone ever knowing it. It explained why they got along so well and seemed so close all the time. They shared a secret and that sort of thing builds a deep bond in a friendship.

Still, it wasn't right for Cassidy to suffer in silence like this while everyone else was out and pursuing relationships.

"Why are you keeping it a secret still?" Lily wondered gently. "I don't think it would be that big of a deal too many people. You could probably at least tell people in our House. Everyone loves and admires you Cassidy."

"No, I don't want people teh know." Cassidy insisted in a sharp, almost scared pitch. "It's not that I'm ashamed anymore, Lily, but, well yeh go teh school here too! Some people are bothered by this sort of thing, even people in Gryffindor. I don't need a bunch of girls whispering about me behind my back or running out of a bathroom every time I step in. I don't need stupid guys making dumb comments teh me. I don't need Slytherin hissing and constricting around _that_ part of my life."

"I don't think you're being fair." Lily stated. "You don't know how people will react until you give them a chance to."

"I'm out of here in a year, Lily." Cassidy glanced at her. "After that, I can live the life I want. Right now, I'm fine with being Cassidy Kinkade: Gryffindor Beater who can pummel most blokes and looks out fer the little guys like Gwen. That's all Hogwarts need teh know about me."

"But what if there are other students like you?" Lily pressed. "Some girls or boys who are confused or scared to be themselves, whatever that might mean. Not everyone's as independent as you, Cassidy. If someone strong and confident that people looked up to can be herself other people might be find that same courage."

"Well, maybe I'm not brave like that." Cassidy's tone was soft and sad.

"I think you are." Lily smiled as she placed a reassuring hand on Cassidy's shoulder. "I think that's why you're a Gryffindor."

Lily believed that. Secrecy and reservation was more common to the Slytherin while Gryffindors were proud to be who they were. And while Cassidy's ambition and rough humor were the same qualities most Slytherin had, the ability to hold her head high along the road less traveled was what made her a Gryffindor in the end.

Even if she did so in silence.

"I won't mention it to anyone if you don't want me to." Lily promised.

Cassidy smiled and sighed in relief.

"Thanks Lily." Cassidy patted her on the back. "Yeh know though, yer saying the exact same thing James has been saying since he found out. It's just . . it's easier to say that sort of thing when yeh don't have to live with the repercussions of it."

"Well, James and I would be there for you . . . for what it's worth." Lily reminded.

"It's worth lots." Cassidy assured.

Cassidy's entire demeanor softened a bit. As though she had been trapped in a small place for a long time and just found a little bit more room to work with. Lily wanted to do everything she could be there for Cassidy, as a friend.

"Since you can't really talk about it with anyone else and you had to listen to the rest of us go one about boys for ages, is there anyone you are interested in? That you think might be interested back?" Lily sheepishly asked in a show a support.

Cassidy blushed slightly. She _hadn't_ ever been asked about who she was interest in as far as girls were concerned. Thinking about it for a moment, Cassidy almost said something before forcing a scowl.

"Sod off, Evans, just because I like girls doesn't mean I need to chatter on like one."

"I'll leave you to finish packing then." Lily smiled and nodded at her "tough" friend.

"I'll see yeh when yeh get back from supper." Cassidy promised as Lily left.

Once alone, Cassidy attempted to contain her excitement and anxiety over Lily knowing now too. Maybe she and James were right. Maybe Cassidy wasn't being fair to herself, fair to other people. Maybe a lot of people would understand. Maybe she wasn't alone, maybe she was just lonely.

Maybe the person who sent her those roses on Valentine's was lonely too.

It seemed that everyone had forgotten how busy the platform of 9 and ¾ could be when the Hogwarts Express pulled into the Kings Cross station on Saturday. The Gryffindor 6th Years left the train in a huddle that quickly dispersed a soon as people started spying their awaiting parents.

Mrs. Pettigrew tugged Peter off almost as soon as he stepped onto the platform forcing him to should a hurried goodbye to his friends and a promise to see them later on in the break. Gwen, Cassidy, and Millicent found their parents not long after and exchanged farewells, wishing one another a good holiday.

Watching Arabella push a trolley full of cats in their carriers, James was grateful for only having Wifflesnip to look after as he saw Arabella drag Remus off, ambushing him with an introduction to her Wizard father who shared his daughter's fair-features. Her mother, a Muggle, wasn't present since too much magic made her a little uncomfortable but was interested in having Remus over sometimes during the holiday to meet him.

As soon as he caught sight of Celestine, Sirius bolted over to his middle sister and pulled her into a hug and off her feet. Celestine was short and sturdily built like their mother, though she kept her black hair relatively short so as not to encourage any of the animals she breed to take a hold of it. She accepted the embrace graciously, evidently amused by her exuberant, younger brother. Remembering his manners, Sirius brought Celestine over to his remaining friends.

"Hullo James!" Celestine greeted warmly, before turning her attentions onto the redhead whose hand he was holding. "And whom might this be?"

"Lily Evans." Lily introduced herself.

"You're Jimmy's girl I take it?" Celestine grinned the same mischievous look Sirius was known to dawn. James winced at the nickname but let it slide since only Celestine and Mrs. Black ever took to calling him by it and they did so only with the most affection. "Well isn't that just smashing news! Aurora mentioned something of it a while back. It's good to see my honorary younger brother with a steady girl."

A thoughtful expression struck Celestine as though the words had jogged some sudden memory.

"Oh bloody hell that reminds me." Celestine muttered turning to her younger brother. "Mum and Dad will NOT stop harping on the lot of us for being single still so please tell me you have a girlfriend like James."

"Nope." Sirius shook his head smiling.

"Great, now we have to listen to Mum moan about her poor, unloved baby and Dad accuse you of being a womanizing failed product of a stable home." Celestine sighed.

"I'm inclined to take Mr. Black's side on this." James grinned, prompting Sirius to give him a good shove.

"So what are your, Aura's, and Acontiae's excuses then?" Sirius demanded.

"Well Acontiae's too picky evidently; I'm tragically overlooked by vastly stupid men, and Aurora _must_ be sabotaging her own happiness because she's not marrying Malfoy. I'd rather see her alone and free than that git's trophy but tell that to Mum, she loves him." Celestine rolled her eyes at their parent's logic. Sirius put his arm around Celestine and nodded sympathetically.

Although Sirius and Aurora probably maintained the most intimate relationship of his siblings, he and Celestine got along well as both had a light-hearted nature that took after their mother and could agree most of the time on matters concerning the family. It was part of Celestine's function as the middle child; peacekeeping and uncanny awareness of her surroundings.

"Well, we should be off for supper at the house." Celestine became conscious off the time, before turning to Lily and James. "You're more than welcome to join us naturally."

"Oh thank you, but my parents should be popping up any moment." Lily declined politely.

"Yeah and I just caught sight of Frank who's waving me down over there." James nodded off into the crowd. "But we'll see you in a couple weeks at the bash."

"Great to hear!" Celestine beamed. "Well, you both enjoy your holiday until Sirius can make sure to commandeer it."

"See you both later!" Sirius gave Lily and James each a quick hug as he went off with his sister and left the couple to themselves.

"So, this is it for a while then?" Lily noted sadly, causing James to nod.

"Just send an Owl for when you want me to come over." James replied feeling himself miss Lily already. "I love you."

"I love you." Lily returned as her eyes drifted off to the side. "And there's my family. I suppose we should just say our goodbyes here."

James leaned in to give Lily a cordial kiss since he didn't want Frank or the Evans to watch him maul their daughter as he would have preferred with this farewell gesture. Reluctantly breaking hands, James and Lilly walked off into opposite directions.

James couldn't look back, knowing it would probably kill him even more if he did.

"Hullo Frank." James greeted half-heartedly in spite of his better efforts.

Frank Longbottom smiled with a sympathetic expression.

"Nothing like that first stint apart, eh?" Frank sighed as he put a friendly arm around James.

"You'll forgive me if I curl into the lonely void Lily's absence has left and die every so often won't you?" James asked.

"Absolutely!" Frank said cheerfully. "Though I believe Alice had plans to fill it with all her homemade sweets once I got you home."

"That will work too." James perked up a bit.

"Are you looking for someone in particular?" Winifred inquired, catching Severus's observation of Black and the short, dark-haired woman with him as they started to move off the platform.

"No." Severus lied.

He had anticipated it would be Aurora who would receive Black, considering how fond she was of her thick and obnoxious sibling. Instead, Black was heading off with one of his other sisters from the looks of it. Severus suddenly became aware of an odd sensation attributed to this revelation.

Disappointment?

Severus didn't have an opportunity to further examine this possibility as he caught sight of Black tossing a wave and a wink in Winifred's direction. Winifred motioned to wave back, but Severus caught her hand in the air and tugged her after him; scowling at Black whom simply shrugged indifferently.

"Why was he waving to you?" Severus demanded, keeping one eye on his cousin and another searching for his Mother whom they expected to collect them up.

"Who knows?" Winifred guessed with a smile suggesting she might have a better idea than she was letting on.

"I suspect you might." Severus accused.

Winifred shrugged and grinned coyly as she stole a glance at Sirius Black before he turned the corner off the platform.

"Apparently I have a problem with answering simple questions.


	29. Thicker Than Water

Thicker Than Water

By: Oy! Angelina

Sirius and Celestine arrived at their manor by means of the family Portkey. Celestine had Apperated to the train station to collect her brother but since he was still a minor and without such knowledge they had to rely on different tactic to get Sirius and his belongings home.

Appearing just outside the fountain marking the front of their home, Sirius found his mother waiting for him with an expectant grin.

"There he is!" Mrs. Black cooed as she hurried over to her son and threw her arms around him.

"MUM!" Sirius met her half way to throw his arms around his mother.

Madeline Black gave Sirius her pale blue eyes and exuberant nature in addition to her hug. Gray veins had long ago took root in her black hair with a few wrinkles around the eyes to mark the years (and probably the stress of raising her son) but Mrs. Black was still regal and young in many respects.

"How is school, Luv?" Mrs. Black inquired.

"They're starving and beating me, Mum." Sirius assured with a pout to goad attention from his mother. "And the kids are ALL mean to me."

Mrs. Black pinched her son for his boldface lying.

"Oh don't you try and pass that off on me when all I hear about from everyone else is which son admires and what daughter adores you for whatever reason!" Mrs. Black fawned over her youngest child and only son. "Look at you! Always so much bigger and handsome every time I lay eyes on you! You're making me feel like an old woman."

"Never Mum! And I'll pummel anyone who says otherwise!" Sirius replied with a scandalous expression.

This evidently reminded his mother of something.

"Since you brought it up, what's this business about you fighting in your classes?" Mrs. Black demanded suddenly.

"Now I did not START that fight!" Sirius explained. "I didn't even bloody finish it with that positively medieval hex Snape threw on me, the ruddy prat he is. Avery was bullying Arabella Figg from my House, slapping her on the bum and then shoving her when she got cross about it so I stepped in."

"Fist-first I imagine." Celestine wagered, apparently more amused by Sirius's tale than anything else.

"Damn straight!" Sirius confirmed before turning to his mother. "Sorry 'bout that, Mum."

"I didn't raise you to be a roughneck, Sirius." Mrs. Black chided.

"You didn't raise me to put up with girls getting hassled about me either." Sirius shrugged. "Otherwise you would have had better sense than to bring me into a house with three beautiful sisters and a captivating Mum."

"You bloody Momma's boy." Celestine covered her face chuckling as she watched Sirius melt their mother's heart like he always did.

"Now it IS my fault that you turned out to be such a flattering little smart mouth tragically enough." Mrs. Black shot her hand out and tugged at a lock of Sirius's black hair in a teasing fashion. Sirius winced more for show before throwing his mother the most charming smile she taught him.

"I love you, Mummy." Sirius grinned like an idiot.

"I love you too, but no more fighting in class." Mrs. Black insisted, before brightening up. "So, anything you want for your birthday?"

"A flying motorbike!" Sirius panted.

"You have been asking for that since you were eight!"

"I've wanted it since I was eight!" Sirius defended himself. "Come on, Mum! No one will think you're spoiling me! I've been begging for it HALF MY LIFE and I'm finally old enough to ride it without killing myself!"

"He's also been saying THAT since he was eight." Celestine noted.

"Unless you got a motorbike in your purse there, Celeste, I advise you not to meddle in this!" Sirius laughed, pointing at his sister.

"I could kill your Father for showing you that old thing at the Muggle Artifacts Expose." Mrs. Black groaned as she headed for the house. "Speaking of beating him within an inch of his life, let's go say hullo to him shall we."

Mrs. Black waved her wand at Sirius's luggage and led two of her children into the foyer of their house behind her. The Blacks had renovated their ancestral home generations ago. What had once been a castle was now a decedent Muggle-style manner that placed less emphasis on the size of the main house itself as it did the grounds surrounding. It had been a decision made when the Blacks found their preoccupations and profit in animal breeding.

Still, forty-three rooms was hardly anything to under appreciate.

Mr. Black was discovered passing through the hallway connecting several of them.

Sirius was told he looked quite a bit like Empyrean Black in the face but it was hard to discern underneath his father's salt and pepper shaded beard, which he kept closely trimmed. Sirius doubted he would ever be as tall as his father and was already more broad-shouldered than the Wizard. Also, Mr. Black's usually serious expression was a direct contradiction to Sirius's typically goofy one.

Of course, Sirius liked to assume people weren't just making up things.

"Hullo, Dad!" Sirius warmly greeted. "How are things?"

"Fine. Just Fine." Mr. Black nodded as he approached his son. "Glad to be home?"

"Adoring family and conveniently stocked food pantries are always a welcomed incentive." Sirius assured as he gave his father a brief hug and watch his Mother set down his luggage.

"Celestine and I are going to check on supper." Mrs. Black announced. "You're room has been made up so see that your trunk finds its way up there. I don't need to put any more work on the House Elves than they already have because you can't bother to pick up after yourself."

"Yes, Ma'am." Sirius promised.

"So is he just home for holiday or did they kick him out finally?" A voice drawled from the nearest parlor.

"That's enough, Acontiae." Mr. Black frowned to his youngest daughter as he and Sirius stepped into the archway of the room.

Of all the Blacks, Acontiae stuck out the most, superficially and personality-wise. Her hair was blonde and skin pale while the rest of her family was dark haired and tan. She was introverted and felt overlooked by the overachieving Aurora, the dependable Celestine, and flamboyant Sirius. She particularly resented her younger brother as how stole out her former spot as the adored baby of the family with his birth and attention was constantly lavished on him no matter how much trouble he got himself into. While, Acontiae barely had a sense of humor in general but managed a few nasty quips whenever it was at Sirius's expense.

The vast majority of Acontiae and Sirius's relationship was spent in rivalry which both appeared to be completely comfortable with and felt no need to correct. In a way, the rest of the Blacks assumed that the youngest siblings actually enjoyed their vicious banter as a counterbalance to the usual content state of their home life.

"Acontiae, you're here?" Sirius noted with shock. "I thought your birth father had custody this weekend. Shouldn't you be at the Malfoys?"

"I SAID that's enough." Mr. Black glared at Sirius. "You've been home for five minutes, you both aren't going to jump right back into your usual petty arguments. And Sirius, don't joke about infidelities in this house, in my presence or otherwise."

"Sorry dad." Sirius muttered.

"Go put your stuff in the room so we can all sit down to supper as a family." Mr. Black insisted.

Sirius's expression lit up.

"Aurora's here?" Sirius demanded.

"She was in the west parlor last I – "

Sirius was speeding out of the room before his father even had the chance to finish. Mr. Black rolled his eyes as Acontiae leaned over the back of the couch.

"He's getting a little too old for all that." Acontiae critiqued her younger brother as usual. "I mean, he's going to be seventeen and he acts like he's five again whenever Aurora steps into the room."

"I know." Mr. Black agreed. "Of course Aurora does little to discourage it. I suppose it comes with being eight years older than him. Sirius always seems like baby brother."

"He certainly acts like it." Acontiae frowned.

Seated down at their family dinning room table, Empyrean and Madeline Black took their places at the head of the table with Sirius and Aurora occupying one side and Celestine and Acontiae residing at the other. The two House Elves the Blacks employed, Finnie and Knolly, had outdone themselves in preparing a grand supper to welcome Sirius back with. After everyone had something to eat on their plates, the usual family dinner conversation started up.

"Aurora, what have you been up to recently?" Mrs. Black inquired as she worked a knife through her food. "You haven't been back to the house in a while, have you been doing anything interesting?"

"I've just been busy with the Ministry." Aurora replied.

"Any more talk of you as the Junior Head of your Department?" Mr. Black questioned.

"That's what this past month has been about. Giving me all the work of the Junior Head without the privilege of the title or benefits that come with it." Aurora nodded. "Apparently I passed with flying colors because they told me the position was mine and it will be officially announce Monday in the Daily Prophet."

A round of smiles and congratulations came from the table from Aurora's family as they continued on with their meal.

"How are things with Witch Weekly, Acontiae?" Aurora turned the conversation over to her youngest sister.

"Fine. I'm still doing mostly local stuff but I have my name in to do some photography work abroad. Lot of interest in what's going on in the States. Apparently they're trying to get so hybrid of Muggle science and Wizard magic off and running." Acontiae picked at her greens.

"I heard about that." Mrs. Black nodded along. "Apparently that's the American's solution for improving Wizard/Muggle relations, by easing the Muggles into magic like a lukewarm bath."

"Bloody Americans. . ." Mr. Black shook his head disapprovingly. "Always have to dash off in their own cock-eyed direction just to be different."

"I'm sure you'll start doing more of the work you want, Acontiae." Celestine smiled at her sister. "I've seen your portfolio, your editor would be mad to not want your eye behind the lens."

"Thanks." Acontiae smiled back. "How are this generation of Owls fairing?"

"Smart group, fast too! I swear any of them could make it around the world in half a day if they were so inclined, right Dad?" Celestine beamed as proudly as a mother would for her children.

Animal breeding was a prized hobby and cornerstone of the Black Family's financial interests. While Mrs. Black handled the paperwork from within the Ministry as Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Mr. Black and Celestine managed and oversaw all the Family's specific ventures in the field.

"That they are, Celestine." Mr. Black smiled at her. "They're going to make some fine delivery birds by the end of spring."

"And what about you, Sirius?" Mrs. Black turned to her only son. "What have you been up to at Hogwarts?"

"This and that." Sirius smirked mischievously as he attempted to sip from his goblet without sputtering out its contents in a laugh.

"Be more specific." Mr. Black encouraged, eyeing his son.

Sirius sighed. A major injustice inflicted upon Sirius by the universe was the inability to lie flat out to his Father's face. Sirius suspected it was because he respected his dad and didn't want him to think his only son was a liar on top of everything else he was, but it was still hard on Sirius when trying to pull the wool over his father's eyes.

"I tied a classmate to a tree." Sirius admitted.

"SIRIUS!" A clatter of flatware came from Mr. Black's end of the table. Aurora and Celestine snickered into their napkins, as Acontiae rolled her eyes. Mrs. Black didn't appear to be all that shocked or impressed by this.

"I wonder why we haven't gotten an Owl about that yet." Mrs. Black said thoughtfully to her husband.

"Well I imagine because I got away with it." Sirius mused with a grin.

Another round of snickering and eye rolling made its way around the table, stopping on their father. Mr. Black didn't seem to share the same amusement with the situation as the rest of his family nor did he appear entirely certain as to what the appropriate parental reaction was to their child binding a peer to a tree.

"Why would you do such a thing, Sirius?" Mr. Black gaped at his only son.

Sirius's expression became suddenly very scandalous as he spoke directly to his father.

"If you met the Slytherin Walden Macnair, Dad, you would have passed me the rope and told me to double knot it!" Sirius insisted defensively. "He's an utter thug who likes to torment anything smaller than him and recently he's being more 'attentive' with girls in my House than anyone's comfortable with. We told the teachers and taught him a lesson to show we wouldn't stand for it."

"We?" Acontiae repeated. "You mean James Potter and the rest helped you with this? Little surprise there."

"No, the royal WE." Sirius quickly said, shooting his sister a dirty look. "Been feeling a bit regal these days and thought I'd play with my grammar."

Only Acontiae cared to call Sirius on his obvious lie as all the other Blacks had more or less already assumed James, Remus, and Peter would have a hand in leaving a Slytherin boy tied to a tree. Mr. Black nodded to Sirius's explanation. His expression appeared to relax a bit as Sirius's motivations of chivalry and protectiveness seemed to be something he could agree with.

"Well, still, you shouldn't go about disciplining your peers like that." Mr. Black commented, still remembering his place as the parent in the situation. "That's what they have the Professors for and the last thing we need is you doing something to start up talk about expelling you again. Of course, if you're interested in attending Durmstrang for your 7th Year, by all means tie as many of your classmates up as there are trees in the Forbidden Forest!"

"If I DO get expelled for my behavior I'd like to think you'd have the sense want me someplace other than that ruddy school with their Muggle hating polices and You-Know-Who pep-clubs." Sirius huffed at his father, evidently convinced he was over reacting on the subject.

"Well your grasp French is pathetic so that eliminates Beauxbatons and I'm not sending you to some bloody American school where they'll simply teach you how to blow up things with more competency." Mr. Black rationalized, growing irritated with the amused expression on Sirius's face. "I think Durmstrang would straighten you out, young man. Teach you that there are repercussions for uncivilized behavior."

"Like ham-fisted lummoxes and women I can't distinguish from the men?" Sirius retorted, blowing some hair out of his eyes in a show of his agitation on the subject.

"Are you seeing any nice girls lately?" Mrs. Black interjected quickly, as a show that she wanted to change the subject. The Black men turned to their matriarch to indicate their attention.

"I'm seeing MANY nice girls lately." Sirius beamed at his mother proudly.

"Oh Bloody hell. . ." Acontiae rolled her eyes again.

"Can't help but wonder how much he's seeing, hm Mum?" Celestine joked.

"Hey!" Sirius protested with a laugh. "I'm not THAT bloody popular!"

"Are you serious about any of them?" Mr. Black pressed with interest.

"Possibly, but it always gets way too complicated when I try to make anything work past a week or so." Sirius shrugged.

"You know, considering how supposedly fearless and brilliant you are with everything else in life, you're a right coward and ruddy idiot when it comes to women." Acontiae reported as though it were a fact of life.

"I don't remember tripping over any suitors for you on my way in, Acontiae." Sirius shot back.

Acontiae went red with either anger or embarrassment.

"So Sirius, kill any of your classmates lately?" Acontiae sneered.

"ACONTIAE!" Mr. and Mrs. Black yelled at their youngest daughter as Aurora and Celestine simply looked surprised. Sirius just glared with a sour expression.

"Sorry." Acontiae quickly said without meeting anyone's eyes.

A silence hung in the room for too long a moment when Aurora finally said.

"Well, it's alright if neither of you are seeing anyone seriously. It's not like Celestine and I are doing much better for ourselves."

"Which I simply don't understand about any of you." Mr. Black shook his head, following along with the new conversation. "Your Mum and I were MARRIED and expecting Aurora at her age now."

"How are things with Lucius?" Mrs. Black questioned.

"Fine." Aurora briefly answered.

"He seems interested." Mrs. Black observed.

"He certainly does." Aurora nodded ambivalently.

"Yeah, I sure do wonder what that old boy's interested in." Sirius said across the table to Celestine who shared his sneer.

"Lucius Malfoy is a fine young man, the both of you." Mrs. Black darted her eyes between her children in a disapproving manner. "The Malfoys have ancient blood, respectable ties, and make avid donations back into the Wizarding community. Lucius himself is on the fast track to becoming a Junior Minister. You just never gave him a chance Sirius, starting on the poor boy the moment Aurora introduced him."

"Am I the ONLY one who recognized that man is unadulterated evil?" Sirius exasperatedly demanded.

"No." Celestine assured before stuffing some greens into her mouth.

"Well, I think there's nothing wrong with Lucius. He's smart, charming, handsome, well-bred, and he was always nice to me, even at Hogwarts when I was six Years under him." Acontiae announced in a bratty tone that made it hard to decide if she truly felt this way or simply liked being contrary to Sirius.

"Well, you were always a daddy's girl like that." Sirius grinned at his sister.

"What did I tell you, Sirius?" Mr. Black pointedly glared at his son.

"Sorry." Sirius apologized to no one in particular.

"Perhaps a quiet meal would be better." Mrs. Black suggested with a sigh.

A thick silence showed that no one bothered to argue with this.

Dear James:

I miss and love you.

Now that my pining is out of the way, holiday is going well for me so far. My parents are happy to see me and we've been keeping ourselves occupied to make up for my not coming home during winter holiday. They keep asking me questions about you and school. Mum and Dad may only have met you once but they appear to be quite taken with you regardless. I suppose it pays to have a charming boyfriend now and again.

I spoke to my parents and if you'd care to drop in on the 21st of March, they would be more than thrilled to have you. We discussed something around four in the afternoon and would have you over for supper. It would just be myself, my parents, and my sister since we don't really have all that much family but we'd be glad to have you. I don't know what Muggle Studies has given you as an impression of proper Muggle attire but your usual casual dress should be more than fine though I'd recommend against any cloaks or pointed hats if you were thinking of bringing them.

Well, I hope this will be alright for you. If not, I'm sure we can arrange something else. I hope everything is going well for you with the Longbottoms and am eager for your reply and even more so to see you again.

Love,

Lily

"What are you up to, James?" Frank Longbottom inquired as he entered the guestroom. He strolled over to the bed the boy was sprawled on top of in the guestroom of his flat. James set down the letter he had been reading over and over again since he had received and replied to it and gave his attention to his guardian as he sat himself upright.

"Nothing important." James admitted with a sigh.

"What's that?" Frank gestured to the stuffed bear in Quidditch garb James had tucked under his arm. James looked at the gift and smiled fondly.

"James Jr." James introduced the toy to Frank as he handed off the bear to him. "It was a valentines present from Lily."

"He's cute." Frank grinned as he inspected it.

"And he's bloody adorable when he's flying at 200 km an hour!" James reported, grinning as well.

"So this is what that Owl was about!" Frank chuckled. "The one with you piloting a broom through the castle."

"Aren't you going to lecture me on that?" James asked.

"Not with a straight face, no." Frank confessed as he sat on the bed. "You know not to do that again and I'm sure Professor McGonagall gave you some sort of detention to make you remember that."

"Yeah, gnomes bite really hard in case you're interested." James nodded.

"So I arranged for the floo network to connect you to the Evans home on the 21st." Frank assured. "That's still the plan right?"

"Yeah." James nodded.

"Nice gesture to have you over for Vernal Equinox." Frank smiled.

"Actually, I don't think it's a very big Muggle event." James reported. "They have a holiday called Easter that is their spring event. I think the 21st is just another day to them."

"Oh." Frank nodded, processing the information. "Well, we'll be having mine and Martha's family over that day. Probably the lot of them will still be here once you get back. Expect a lot of cheek pinching and marveling about your height."

"Something to look forward to." James grinned.

Frank's dark featured, pudgy face lit up as something just occurred to him.

"I just remembered why I came in. Martha finished a fresh batch of fudge, brownies, and cookies and is looking for some taste testers." Frank declared.

"Won't we be spoiling our supper?" James noted with amusement.

"Martha would find it to be an insult if we did anything less!" Frank assured as he ushered James out of the room.

A gothic style keep nestled in a misty moor served not only as Severus Snape's residence but the site of his family's Vernal Equinox celebration. Relations, acquaintances, and associates of both parents milled about the grounds of their home in honor of the season's crossover into the spring season.

Severus hated these functions.

Pretty much everyone his family saw fit to socialize with were jarring in some respects and his mother always insisted on him dressing properly for the occasion in some formal robes she selected. Fortunately, his mother had the sense to ensure they were always black. Normally Severus spent the afternoon standing off to the side, allowing his mother to crow about him to people he had no desire to impress but was still obliged to be respectful to for the duration of their stay.

Those were the more entertaining moments.

The remainder of the time was excruciatingly spent conversing with his relatives whom had an astounding knack for either disturbing him with their dialogues or humiliating him with their refusal to treat him as an adult.

Severus fully expected that Winifred's presence and Lucius Malfoy's recent cameo would serve as the only saving graces of the day until a voice caught him off guard as he lingered beneath a solitary willow on the outskirts of the party.

"Certainly feels like spring doesn't it?"

Severus glance over his shoulder and saw Aurora Black approaching in powder blue robes of an oriental design. Her hair was up, like the first time he had saw her complete with her handsome frames set over her sapphire eyes. An accessory which may have something to do with a scroll of parchment in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Severus demanded.

He hadn't been aware Aurora had been invited.

As always, she smiled.

"Lucius requested that I show up." Aurora explained. "My department requires his signature on a few documents that should have been sent out on Owls yesterday. Apparently this slipped Lucius's mind so he asked me to meet him here. Naturally, I feel awful about barging in on your family affair because of office politics so if you find my presence an inconvenience, I can simply Dissipate from whence I came."

Severus evaluated this flimsy story, attempting to figure out whether the lie belonged to Aurora or Lucius. He was willing to wager on the later

"Not at all." Severus replied. "I'll escort you to Lucius."

"That's considerate of you." Aurora smiled appreciatively.

"It's more accurately a necessity if you care to be spared some traumatic episode which would undoubtedly follow speaking with a majority of my family." Severus corrected.

Aurora laughed at this comment as though it were a joke.

Severus took this as proof of how vital it was he remain near Aurora.

"What did you say his name was again?" Petunia Evans inquired in a tone that suggested she wasn't all that interested in the response.

"James Potter." Lily repeated for her older sister's benefit.

The Evans family was seated in the sitting room of their modest home, expectant of James arrival, which was due any moment according to the grandfather clock near the stairs. Lily attempted to keep her fidgeting down to a minimum while waiting but after not seeing James for nearly a week this was shaping up to be a more daunting task than she had imagined.

"The Potter's are a very good family name from where they come from." Mr. Evans reported to his elder daughter. "Very respectable."

"Lovely for the Potters." Petunia replied unimpressively.

"James is doing a wonderful job of keeping up this." Lily spoke more to her parents than her sister. "He's one of the leading runners for Headboy of our Year, very popular with most of the students and Professors, and Captain of our Quidditch House team."

"What was that last part?" Petunia demanded. "Some sort of club?"

"It's a sport." Lily clarified. "You fly around on brooms with three balls up in the air with you – "

"Oh." Petunia interrupted making a face at the mention of brooms.

Lily took this as her cue to drop the subject since any mention of magic more than agitated Petunia. Rising from her chair, Petunia crossed her arms.

"I'll be back in a moment." Petunia announced. "I promised I'd ring Vernon this afternoon and if we're going to be entertaining Lily's. . . friend I won't be able to later on."

"You're more than welcome to invite him over if he's available." Mrs. Evans offered. "I don't believe Lily's even met him and the wedding is only a few months off."

"That's quite alright." Petunia assured distastefully as she made her way up the stairs to use the telephone there. Lily waited until she heard her sister's footsteps overhead before she turned to her parents.

"You shouldn't have forced her to stay." Lily sighed, more than aware of her sister's regard towards sitting through a meal with anyone from Hogwarts. Although their relationship had long since deteriorated over the years, Lily and Petunia could agree on one thing:

Neither wanted Petunia there.

"We'll manage Petunia." Mr. Evans promised. "We raised her better than to be rude to our guests and she should be good enough to honor that, regardless of how she feels about it otherwise."

"Besides, dear, James hasn't met Petunia yet and it's not as though you can simply pretend that you haven't a sister at all." Mrs. Evans noted.

"Why? Petunia appears content with it." Lily observed, recalling her sisters active efforts to not introduce her to her fiancée, Vernon Dursley.

Her parents exchanged glances as though uncertain of how to argue against this point of her younger daughter. They were spared the attempted when a small clamor came from the fireplace at their side.

James straightened himself up, dressed in a sweater and slacks that were now covered in a thin layer of soot along with the rest of him. He was holding a bouquet of ash-dusted roses and a square package that he quickly inspected for any dents. He glanced over to the Evans with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry for the mess." James sincerely offered. "We don't learn how to Apperate until next year and this, surprisingly enough, is the least conspicuous means for me to arrive without the benefit of a Portkey but that's a whole different song and dance to get the approval of."

Mr. and Mrs. Evans blinked away their evident surprise as they threw up their smiles and went over to greet James.

"It's wonderful that you could make it this evening James." Mrs. Evans beamed warmly.

"You have a lovely home. . . probably more so before I exploded into it." James complimented, earning a few chuckles

"Please, don't give another thought to the mess, you're our guest!" Mrs. Evans dismissed the apology.

"I brought some sweets, Frank's wife owns a bakery and they're simply grand." James passed the box off to Mrs. Evans. "It's cakes and cookies mostly."

"That's very considerate of you. Thank you, James." Mr. Evans grinned as his wife carried the package into the kitchen.

James turned to Lily who had been patiently restraining herself so that James could make a proper introduction into her home. She approached her boyfriend, resisting the urge to latch herself upon him and commence a reunion snog with her father standing right between them.

"I brought these for you." James handed the roses to Lily. "You might have to rinse them off though."

"They're lovely." Lily accepted them with a grin. "I think I'll just put them in some water."

With that, Lily followed her mother's path into the kitchen.

"I'll show you to the bathroom so you can clean yourself up before supper." Mr. Evans offered as he placed a friendly hand on James's shoulder.

"I'd appreciate that." James nodded

"What was that noise?" Petunia's demanded from the stairs as she made her way down. "It sounded like a bird got caught in the chimney again."

She turned the corner and laid her eyes on the dusty James with a small sneer on her lips.

"Or a boy." She corrected herself in the midst of the bizarre situation before turning to Lily. "I imagine this would be our guest then."

James took a step over to Petunia and attempted his most charming smile in spite of his otherwise disheveled appearance.

"You must be Lily's older sister, Petunia. It's good to meet you!" James offered his hand out for a shake. "I'm James Potter."

Talking a labored breath, Petunia eyed the dirty hand before tentatively accepting it.

"Of course you are." Petunia nodded stiffly until catching her father's eye, prompting her to add. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." James smiled as he released her hand.

It was almost amazing to see how Lily and her sister could possess such similar features and achieve such drastic results. Her neck was long like Lily's but almost to an exaggerated effect. Like Lily, Petunia was thin and tall framed but to a gaunt extent as though there was a conscious effort behind maintaining such a shape. The pale complexion of Petunia's skin struck James as that of a well-kept sort of woman whom never bothered to exert herself outside while Lily's fair skin has always struck him as less forcibly achieved. Finally, James decided much of Lily's appearance must be recessive as Petunia had darker hair like her parents and didn't have the same brilliant green eyes her sister possessed.

It was not to say that Petunia was unattractive, she simply wasn't the beauty James found Lily to be.

Of course he recognized there might be a certain bias in the matter on his part.

"Now that you've met everyone, I'll show you to the bathroom then." Mr. Evans led James off. "We'll serve some tea afterwards."

"Thank you, sir."

As he had more or less anticipated, Severus found his parents with Lucius Malfoy in the crux of the party so as to not appear as poor hosts. Although he would have thought it more merciful for him to bleed Aurora before shoving her into a next of poisoned asps rather than bring her anywhere near his parents, she had requested it and he had to oblige.

"Hello Severus. Aurora, thank you for meeting me here." Lucius smiled as he became aware of their presence. "Arcanus. Erinyes. You remember Dr. Black."

"How could we possibly forget?" Madam Snape smiled, stealing a glance at her husband.

"My apologies for arriving unannounced; however it seems that every time I try and get Lucius to sign these documents he manages to be spirited away." Aurora addressed the Snape's cordially. She turned to Lucius, extending the parchments towards him. "If you would take a moment with these, I'll be on my way and out of your collective hair."

"I would like to think that your department would find better uses for their Junior Head's time than couriering information about on her day off." Mr. Snape frowned at the management of the Ministry at times.

"Congratulations on your promotion." Severus offered Aurora sincerely.

"Thank you Severus." Aurora graciously accepted.

"Severus, I was not aware that you were so well informed of Dr. Black's standing in the Ministry." Erinyes Snape's eyes swung like a pendulum between Severus and Aurora.

Severus cursed himself for not being more conscientious in his wording.

"It's public domain as of Monday." Aurora explained. "It made small mentioning in the Daily Prophet."

Severus refrained for sighing aloud at Aurora's welcomed recovery but soon found himself questioning why she was inclined to think he required one.

"If you are available for a few moments, Doctor, we were just discussing the curriculum at Hogwarts with Lucius since he has been working with the administrative board recently." Madam Snape informed. "We could always benefit from another opinion."

"Apparently things have changed greatly with Professor Dumbledore's position as Headmaster from what your Mother and myself remember." Mr. Snape interjected in his silky voice.

"I would dare say that there have been changes from what Aurora and I remember of our academic career there." Lucius added. "Dumbledore, as brilliant a man as he might be, is ill-preparing students like Severus for the realities of the world outside Hogwarts."

"How are things all that different?" Aurora pressed with interest.

"Myself, the Snapes, and a few of our more prominent Wizarding families feel as though the students are being coddled in their current curriculum." Lucius reported. "While we all can appreciate the trying nature of our times, Professor Dumbledore's over cautious approach in the education of the Dark Arts coupled with his emphasis on Herbology, Transfigurations, and other electives of debatable priority are producing nothing more than Ministry approved Wizards rather than functioning members of our society."

"I agree with you entirely." Madam Snape nodded in approval. "It's disappointing how much Severus is ignorant of and how much I have to contribute to his proper education whenever he is home."

"What would you have him learn?" Aurora questioned Erinyes Snape. "That is to say, what do you feel is being neglected in Severus's education?"

Severus watched his mother take the question with a smile as she eyed Aurora with a merciless stare.

"I find myself receiving no comfort in knowing the most my son will benefit from in regards to the Dark Arts according to Hogwarts lesson plans are child's play hexes and pre-approved textbook information on what he can expect from a Dark Sorcerer." Mr. Snape confessed.

"We are merely speaking as concerned parents." Madam Snape clarified. "Perhaps you have not been paying attention to recent events, but the Dark Lord's Death Eaters are as cruel as they are scrupulous."

"I am aware of what Death Eater's are capable of." Aurora's smile failed her as she spoke through a hollow voice that showed she most likely did.

Erinyes Snape gave a thoughtful nod, but Severus saw a hit of triumph to his mother's gesture.

"Then you can understand why we wish the current headmaster would be more thorough in his instruction against it." Madam Snape stated. "I do not want Severus to only recognize the most heinous manifestations of magic after they have been employed upon him."

"I believe Professor Dumbledore is simply exercising a prudent caution in light of the times we live in, Madam Snape." Aurora defended her point. "Are you aware that the supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that Aurors are bringing in are getting younger and younger? We have to be careful what we are teaching the impressionable minds of our youth and what they should do with the knowledge they receive. The Dark Lord is twisting the passionate and troubled over to his cause with tempting lies of power and prestige. The last thing we need it to be opening anymore doors for him than he's already breaking down."

"Well spoken, my dear." Lucius praised Aurora like a child reciting the alphabet before readdressing the Snapes. "Aurora has counseled many families devastated by the evils plaguing our world and her insights into them are truly invaluable; however, one must admit that what might be tempting these children to the dark path may be rooted in their respect for the magics involved. After all, how can we expect our young witches and wizards to fully appreciate and differentiate appropriate magic if we only bother to provide them with one option? I believe curiosity and ignorance is responsible for twisting so many young people."

Aurora turned to Severus in a deliberate but kind manner.

"Speaking of unique perspectives, we are discussing the interests of our young wizards when we have one present." Aurora included Severus. "How do you feel about your education at Hogwarts, Severus? Do you feel prepared for the Wizarding world in the years time you'll be entering into it?"

Severus wasn't sure whether he should be grateful for Aurora respecting his opinion as an adult by inviting him into the conversation or resentful for now having to pick a stance that would either earn her displeasure or that of his parents.

"I feel that I am more prepared to take on the responsibilities of a wizarding adult than some who have long since acquired such a status." Severus carefully responded. "Hogwarts has been a necessary foundation to my overall grasp and appreciation of magic although my parents have certainly encouraged filling gaps that I have felt was present in my education."

Erinyes Snape put a possessive arm around her son's as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Our Severus is exceedingly mature for his age." Mr. Snape stated. From his wife's side "He had a good head on his shoulders and will not be coerced into any criminal behavior. It is other children from less attentive families whom rely only on what Hogwarts provides that I fear for."

"I think Hogwarts produces some of our finest members of society." Aurora maintained.

"Oh and we positively agree." Madam Snape assured. "However, our point is that since Dumbledore's presence as Headmaster we just find the quality of the experience of Hogwarts to be declining."

"How so?" Aurora challenged.

"Well, when Arcanus, myself, or you and Lucius attended, I never recalled any students almost being devoured by werewolves." Madam Snape offered up. She threw jibes about as though they were knives, piercing and always on the mark. Erinyes wanted to be sure that her son was always aware that there was power in words that didn't always have a magical root.

Aurora said nothing in reply.

What could she say?

Well, that would retain itself as polite conversation anyway.

"I think we will simply have to agree to disagree on this topic." Aurora declined a retort as she passed the parchments in her hand to Lucius. "If you would be so kind as to look over and approve these Lucius, I'll leave you all to your holiday."

"Oh that is not necessary." Madam Snape smiled. "Please, feel free to stay as long as you care to. There is little sense in sending you off seeing as how you have only just arrived."

"I would hate to impose." Aurora kept her eyes on Erinyes.

"It would be no such thing." Madam Snape assured before turning to her son. "Severus, be a good host and offer Dr. Black a tour. I have someone I have been desperate to introduce Lucius to since we last saw one another in January."

"Really?" Lucius's drawled with a note of intrigue.

"Yes her name is Narcissa, she is an enchanting woman from the LaFae line." Madam continued. "I believe she attended Hogwarts the same years as your middle sister, Dr. Black. Anyway, I thought there would be no harm in exposing you to a good woman from a good line since you are long past due in settling down, Lucius."

"Well, I have had some assistance with that." Lucius stole a glance at Aurora before he walked off with Erinyes Snape. "Although it is always a pleasure to meet your friends, Erinyes. I'll return these to you later, Aurora. Enjoy yourself."

Severus stood with Aurora as he watched his parent depart.

"It appears your mother is plotting." Aurora observed.

"Only when she's sentient." Severus replied.

"She doesn't like me, I take it." Aurora asked rhetorically.

"No." Severus admitted. "It is more about your brother than it is about you, if it is any consolation. My mother's lineage is traced back to the Mediterranean and they have a strong emphasis placed on blood debts. Tragically, his slights are yours in my mother's eyes."

"I see." Aurora nodded. "Is that how you feel as well, Severus?"

"No." Severus answered again. "I have a respect for you that is neither attributed nor impaired by the actions of your family. We do not share our history or destiny with anyone other than ourselves and are accountable alone for our actions in regards for them."

"Where did you learn that wisdom from?" Aurora smiled sincerely again.

"I believe that sounds like something Professor Dumbledore would say." Severus decided as he offered his arm to Aurora as a proper escort. "I could show you my father's hedge maze if you like. It is amusing and should spare you the company of our other guests."

"That sounds fun." Aurora accepted his arm and allowed herself to be led off. "Out of curiosity, why should I avoid the remainder of the party?"

"Because I'm fairly certain they would attempt to converse with you and I cannot imagine many good things will follow such a thing."

Leading her away from the body of the celebration, Severus couldn't help but notice how warm Aurora's presence felt at his side.

As well as the lingering impression of his mother's ever vigil eye.

James found himself in a torn debate as to whether everything in Lily's Muggle home was either impressive or mundane. It was true that there was a lot of similarities between the Muggle and Wizard culture, minus a few magical conveniences. If anything, James was persuaded to say he found the wizarding world to be somewhat lazy as the Muggles have managed to fend rather well for themselves in spite of the absences of magic.

He was certain to compliment Mrs. Evans on the meal she provided that evening since James knew that far more toil and care went into its presence than it would have in a Wizarding home. Grappling with the demands of being polite, witty, charming, interesting, and, above all, accepted, James evenly distributed the conversation between each of the Evans and attempted to introduce topics they would enjoy discussing.

Everything was going well except for whenever he tried addressing Petunia. She behaved as though anything he said was some sort of intrusion or otherwise beneath her responding to. Wondering if he was just asking the wrong questions or if she was merely put off by company, James found himself trying harder and harder to win Petunia's approval as she seemed determined not to give it.

"So, Petunia, you're Lily's older sister, am I right?" James inquired.

"Yes. I will turn nineteen in a month." Petunia replied as though it were an impressive accomplishment.

"So what do you do, may I ask?" James pressed the conversation.

"I do part-time clerical work." Petunia reported, working some roast in the corner of her mouth in an effort to hide her sneer.

"Right." James though he knew what that was unless the Muggles had a completely different system of office management. He hoped Petunia wasn't exposed all that much to the general populous if this was how she usually reacted to people. "So are you going to make a career of this?"

"Oh goodness no!" Petunia scoffed as though James had just managed to ask the stupidest question he could think of. "Once I marry Vernon, I plan on being a proper housewife and mother. That's the only full-time employ I care to have."

"Still, you should keep your options open." Mr. Evans instructed his daughter. "After all, you never know how well the economy will keep and when a second income might be needed."

"Vernon has a job with Grunnings." Petunia reported loftily. "It's the very best firm in regards to drills and they have nothing but the highest hopes for Vernon within it."

"I'm sure he will be very successful, darling." Mrs. Evans passed a bowl of steamed potatoes to Lily.

For the first time in possibly the entire evening, Petunia bothered to look directly at James. It was a scrutinizing sort of stare, which he felt was largely directed at his scruffy black hair.

"What about you, Mr. Potter?" Petunia questioned. "Once you've finished with your. . . schooling, what are YOUR plans?"

James felt all the other sets of eyes present at the table on him.

"Er, well," James took a sip of his water as it felt suddenly dry. "I was strongly considering becoming an Auror since that's what most of the people in my family end up as - "

"What on earth is an Auror?" Petunia interrupted.

"It's like a police inspector from where James is from." Lily offered. "They track down the worst sorts of people so everyone else can rest easy."

"Sounds like brutish work." Petunia commented; earning annoyed looks from her parents.

"Actually it's quite respectable!" Lily insisted defensively. "Only the brightest and most talented sorts are even considered for the job. Not to mention they're all brave and selfless enough to risk their necks so the average person doesn't have to."

"I was also thinking about politics." James added with a smile to try and get Lily off her rant. "Possibly playing Quidditch professionally if I was good enough."

"Are you planning on having your wife work, once you get married of course." Petunia demanded with an interest that implied if he said yes it would have a specific meaning to Lily's sister. James caught her throwing a deliberate look at Lily as she spoke.

"I suppose if she wanted to." James shrugged indifferently, trying his damnedest not to steal a glance at Lily.

"Why if she wanted to? Do you expect to make a lot of money in these . . . vocations you're considering?" Petunia continued to pry.

"They have generous incomes typically." James answered. "Of course, it's not really necessary for either of us to work if we were inclined enough to be unemployed."

"You're content with the prospects of being destitute and on the streets?" Petunia gaped.

"Actually that would be a challenge for me at this point." James corrected. "I'm the sole heir of my entire family fortune. I have enough finances and trades bequeathed in my name that I'm not entirely sure what to do with them. As for my living accommodations, well, I need to leave trails of breadcrumbs about to find my way around the estate typically."

James felt himself being stared at once again. He cursed his often too honest tongue but he had always been fairly upfront about his life and it was an effort to deviate from it typically. That and Petunia was trying his patience with her relentless fishing for something to disapprove of in him. James considered introducing Petunia to Snape and seeing if they hit it off since they have scowling and hating him in common already.

Wondering what he had done to earn Petunia's ire in the short time she had known him, James thought maybe she was trying to cause him to lose face out of concern for her younger sister. Maybe Petunia was afraid that he was intending to whisk Lily off to live in the Wizarding world and wanted to make sure that, if that happened, her sister would be taken care of. Thinking to the protective relationship of most of the Black siblings, James thought this was a likely reason for Petunia to resent him. Determined to speak with Petunia in privet if he could help it and clear the air, James wanted to show all the Evans that he wasn't looking to tear apart their family.

Maybe just become a part of it.

A vast majority of any effort placed into the appearance of Severus's home was on account of his mother's intervention. The hedge maze, however, was an amusement of his father's. Like many other members of the Department of Mysteries, Arcanus Snape found great interest in riddles and puzzles. It was something Severus had inherited from him.

The tall foliage walls loomed over Severus as he navigated the labyrinth with Aurora. He had long since memorized the fastest route through the maze since it had been a part of their property his entire life. Presently Severus found himself a bit distracted in keeping track of the proper way and only could accurately recall their place when he and Aurora came upon one of the marble statues from Greek lore his mother had placed in the maze for markers.

That's not to say he minded entirely.

"I couldn't help but notice when we were amongst the other members of the party that there didn't appear to be many people our ages." Aurora observed thoughtfully as she inspected a statue of Persephone in passing.

"My family line finds child-rearing to be a . . . distracting endeavor." Severus cautiously phrased.

"I suppose that explains why you're an only child." Aurora nodded in a non-judgmental fashion.

"When my parents made arrangements to be married, my Father had very few stipulations of my Mother regarding what he expected of a wife; however, a child was a patriarchal inclination he required to be met. I was the first result and my Mother didn't care to produce any further children as her obligation to my Father had been met." Severus explained coolly. "I'm sure you find this pragmatic outlook hard to relate to with three younger siblings."

"It's different from my home, yes." Aurora admitted. "However, your parents seem to invest a great amount of interest and resources into your life and you all appear to be very content with just one another. Your family just does with three members that mine does with six, that's all."

"Most find my situation unorthodox." Severus confessed. "Many outside of Slytherin, I've found, attach a significant amount of emotion into having children and most within my House have an even more practical regard than my family. Mostly it involves male heirs or the securing of assets, something of the archaic like."

"The Malfoy's are one of those families. Very business like in all their dealings and investments." Aurora stated. "I had such sympathy for Lucius as he had such expectations to meet at all times. Parents' always have expectations of their children, but when they choose to have children because they sincerely want them it's so much harder to be disappointed them."

Severus found a certain wisdom in her words as he realized his parents rarely disapproved of anything he did and, for the most part, seemed rather proud of what he had managed for himself.

Opting for the left corner over the right, Severus and Aurora encountered a rather lost looking Winifred as she studied a rendition of Hermes and attempted to remember her position in the maze.

Winifred's dress robes were the color of wine and her hair and make up were extravagantly executed. The effort screamed of his Mother. Whenever she was present at their home, Winifred often served as his mother's doll since she was accommodating and indifferent to the functions and Severus had no intention of allow his mother to practice such upon him.

It was a pity that family was predominantly present at the function as it put Winifred's fetching appearance to waste.

Pivoting her head, Winifred's expression was both relieved and curious as she spied her cousin and Aurora.

"Well I must confess I'm glad to see you." Winifred breathed as she approached the pair. "I've been wandering lost in here for nearly half and hour. It's been so long since I last attempted the maze I can't hope to remember the way out."

"I'm having similar difficulties." Severus nodded.

"Hello, I'm Aurora Black." Aurora extended her hand to Winifred. The younger girl accepted the gesture with a smile, not nearly as phony as Erinyes or as sincere as Aurora's.

"Winifred Wilkes. Charmed." Winifred replied, turning to Severus as though she expected to read something off his expression like the page of a book. "Black you say? Not any relation to Sirius Black by chance?"

"He's my brother." Aurora confirmed.

"Fascinating." Winifred smiled finally removing her eyes from Severus. "I have always found Sirius to be an interesting individual though I'm afraid Severus has had the privilege of his company far more than I. Are the two of you close?"

"Yes, Sirius and I are." Aurora informed.

Winifred offered an expression that suggested that wasn't the relationship she was referring to. Aurora's own demeanor suggested that she was probably aware of this.

"It's always good to have family you can be close with." Winifred approved. "Some people like to under appreciate how deep relationships within the family can be, assuming that it's only blood that joins them."

"I entirely agree." Aurora smiled. "Are you and Severus close to one another?"

"I like to assume so." Winifred turned her eyes on Severus again, as though this were some sort of challenge.

Severus was beginning to assume that all the women in his family were duplicitous, passive-aggressive psychotics on some level.

"Well, I think I remember the way out from here, so I'll leave you both to yourselves." Winifred offered a she brushed past Aurora and Severus. "I'll see you later at the party I suspect."

"It was nice to have met you, Winifred." Aurora called after the girl as the disappeared one of the hedge walls.

Severus had to admit he wasn't entirely sad to see her go as he continued his previous pass with Aurora through the maze.

"I'm curious, what's Winifred's relation to you?" Aurora mused. "She behaves as though she were a . . . sister perhaps."

Severus got the impression that Aurora meant to say "jealous lover" or "easily-threatened neurotic" if not for tact, but it was possible he was just imagining it. After all, she nurtured a precariously close relationship with her own brother which might cause her to consider such behavior on Winifred's to be the norm.

"A cousin. The Blood is three generations removed though. Though you're not entirely off the mark in your observation. In some ways Winifred is the closest thing I've ever had to a sibling or a confidant in the least." Severus agreed. "On account of her home life being a complicated, we've had years to nurture our relationship even before out admittance to Hogwarts."

"How so?" Aurora inquired politely.

"Winifred's Mother died birthing her and her Father and older brothers irrationally resent her for this. She's virtually ignored by all of them." Severus explained.

"That's unfortunate." Aurora commented with sincere sympathy.

"When we were children, my Mother thought I could use a playmate or something to the effect and Winifred was the only relation of my age available often." Severus went on. "I doubt I was as attentive as Winifred would have probably liked but she followed me around anyway and never complained about any activities I suggested as amusement. I suspected she was lonely and was just content to have someone taking an interest in her existence."

"That was rather nice of you." Aurora smiled approvingly.

Severus really hadn't attached such implications to his childhood with Winifred, he just saw it as convenient social interaction but he supposed Aurora was entitled to her opinion.

"I was merely indulging my Mother's wishes." Severus replied modestly. "If anything, I believe she took pity on Winifred as she knew her Mother from Slytherin when they attended Hogwarts. It was probably a bit selfish as well. Mother had no desire to put in the effort required for a second child but I always suspected she wouldn't have minded a daughter to indulge and mold. She was allowed this through Winifred, which is why she never seems bothered to have her around."

"Sounds like a fair situation for all parties concerned." Aurora nodded. "Winifred has people to acknowledge and be interested in her, your Mother has a young lady to keep her company and be a role model to, and you have a friend."

"I suppose it is convenient." Severus admitted. "I've grown accustom to Winifred, even when she's prying into my affairs, since Winifred always attempts to help me in her own roundabout fashion."

"It wouldn't really be family otherwise, would it?" Aurora decided.

It only then caught Severus's attention that they had arrived to the heart of the labyrinth. Within the vast clearing, a large statue of a Minotaur was the sole occupant. Aurora smirked at its presence.

"Your mother appears to have a fondness of puns and old myths." Aurora observed. "Perhaps that would be a civil conversation to broach with her."

"Possibly." Severus couldn't be entirely certain of that. "She is a wealth of knowledge on the subject but we never went beyond the generalities of it. I only recently applied the topic in Muggle Studies."

"Muggle Studies?" Aurora repeated. Severus couldn't decide if her tone was surprised, amused, or impressed. Possibly all three. "I wouldn't have suspected that you would have found interest in the class."

"Actually I find it fascinating at times." Severus informed. "How an entire civilization of people manages to survive without the benefit of magic does comment on their perseverance and ingenuity. I addressed such qualities in my most recent paper with an allusion to the Greek Titan Prometheus."

"Very clever of you!" Aurora praised. "Prometheus was always one of my favorite characters. I suppose because he reminds me of Sirius for his way of pulling the wool over the eyes of people and annoying them all for the greater good he's built up in his mind."

"Your brother certainly seems the type to get himself chained to a rock as an eagle consumed his liver for his effort." Severus dryly decided.

Aurora apparently chose to be amused by this comment rather than offended judging by the sudden rising of her eyebrows.

"Your Mother would be ever so annoyed to see that you have inherited my brother's flare for social grace more than her own. I imagine it would be the same sort of twitch she suddenly develops whenever I bring up the subject of Divining."

Severus and Aurora both turned as they noticed a woman join them the center of the maze by means of another passage of hedge. Vates Snape smiled at her nephew. She was dark featured with a gaunt form, as were most members of his paternal side. Severus had always wondered if she and her Father shared the same smile. He couldn't be certain since he had no memories of his Father every performing such a gesture.

"Hello Aunt Vates." Severus strained his manners. He didn't loathe his aunt as much as he did her exclusive presence. Vates was unsettling even by Snape family standards and Severus preferred to have either his mother or father present to keep her from disturbing him too much with her usual choice in conversation.

"I'm sorry did you mention Divination?" Aurora questioned.

"Yes I did, my dark little sunrise." Vates smiled.

Aurora blinked at the play on her name, evidently noting that she had not yet given it to the woman yet. Severus chose to frown.

"Aunt Vates is regarded as a clairvoyant in my family." Severus explained. "She manages a few lucky guesses for herself time to time."

"Severus likes to greatly downplay my capacity as an oracle." Vates announced as she approached the two others present with her. "He's always been as negative and resistant as his mother on the subject of soothsaying."

"I would call what you do more akin to doomsaying, my dear aunt." Severus countered.

Aunt Vates had the unpleasant habit of only bothering to predict oddities, misfortune, and woe in cryptic manners. They rarely made sense when they were first heard but after whatever it was she predicted had already come to pass hindsight bias allowed for the irony of her words to be appreciated like the punch line of some twisted joke.

"It is not I who prescribes the destiny of man, but the three sisters of fate. I merely recognize the woven thread, whom they are connected to, and where they are severed." Vates defended herself, before turning to look directly Aurora. "Would you care to know what I see for you, dear?"

"I'm afraid I had my fill of Divinations back in Hogwarts. Thank you kindly though for offering." Aurora declined politely.

"Are you a skeptic like Severus or afraid like Winifred?" Vates pressed.

"Afraid." Aurora admitted. "As tempting as it may be to know what will come next, I see little sense in dreading events I have no power to avoid."

"Oh I like her." Vates grinned at Severus. "Sensible yet perceptive, such rare virtues for a Witch to posses. I imagine you must appreciate them even if your fair-headed mutual friend does not."

"Dr. Black doesn't require my approval." Severus reported, guessing Vates was referring to Lucius.

"Well, I suppose you will simply have to wait for future to catch up with you." Vates spoke to Aurora.

"I find patience to be yet another virtue of mine." Aurora smiled.

"You and your fair-headed friend." Vates nodded. "Of course, yours will fair longer than his."

"Ah. Well, speaking of Lucius, I'm probably running his patience thin with not retrieving those documents from him." Aurora wagered. "Severus, would you help to show me the way out? It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Likewise." Vates assured. "I always enjoy meeting people whom do not go to such painstaking measures to emulate Erinyes's example."

"Good afternoon then, Aunt." Severus quickly wished as he took Aurora's arm in an effort to usher her out of Vates's company a bit quicker.

Once they were thoroughly immersed in the maze once more, Aurora turned to Severus.

"May I ask why your Aunt bothers you so much?" Aurora inquired. "Are her predictions really so astute?"

"The thing to understand about my Aunt's predictions if they are vague and often the phrasing is the worst part of them." Severus began in a silky voice. "As an example, she predicted one of my other Aunts would be widowed before she was married. This troubled her greatly until she ended up marrying a vampire. Aunt Vates's prophecies are often ambiguous like that. The most they have to offer traditionally is unnecessary worry. You were wise to refuse her."

"Has she ever predicted anything for you?" Aurora continued.

"Yes. Several times, several predictions." Severus replied uncomfortably.

"Have they ever come to pass?" Aurora sounded intrigued.

"A few, but most pertain to me later in life." Severus revealed. "I'm still not entirely confident that my Aunt is less of a clairvoyant as she is an eerie judge of character."

"I'll assume you have no intention of telling me what your Aunt may have said." Aurora guessed.

"No." Severus admitted. "And I doubt Winifred would be inclined to discuss the things she's heard from Aunt Vates either. Winifred is greatly disturbed by Vates's presence and I believe a large portion of that is rooted in whatever future she had envisioned for her."

"I'm feeling better and better that I didn't allow my curiosity to have the better of me." Aurora confided in a teasing fashion.

"You should." Severus agreed knowingly.

Abandoning James to the living room, Lily went to help her parents clear off the table and bring out some coffee and sweets to finish off the evening. Uncomfortable just sitting by himself staring at the motionless pictures framed on the walls, James caught sight of Petunia seated on the bench near the front door of the house in the twilight of the spring evening. Sucking in a deep breath, James opened the door and peered out at Lily's older sister.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" James inquired tentatively, but had an air that suggested this question was more rhetorical than not.

Petunia sighed.

"If you must." Petunia relented.

James shut the door behind him as he joined Lily's older sister on the front stoop of their home. Observing the quiet night in the Muggle neighborhood, James kept a respectable distance from Petunia as he addressed her.

"I'm not exactly sure how I managed it, but it seems I've started off on the wrong foot with you somehow and have done something to offend you." James led in awkwardly. "I'd really like to know what I did so I can properly apologize for it, you see. I don't want any ill feelings between us if it's something I can help."

"Oh I very much doubt you can." Petunia scoffed with a humorless laugh.

"Well, I'm willing to give it a go." James insisted, trying not to be put off by the young woman's resentment. "You sister's important to me. Really important. I want to be on good terms with her family and if you give me a chance I'm sure you and I can come to some sort of understanding."

"I understand things perfectly, Potter." Petunia assured. "I understand that you are some abnormal creature my younger sister saw fit to latch herself onto."

James gaped at Petunia for a moment, attempting to recover from this unexpected and candid dialogue.

"Look, if you're worried about my intentions for Lily, don't be, alright?" James tried a different approach. "I care deeply for you sister and would NEVER do a single thing to hurt her if I could at all help it. More importantly, I'm not trying to take her away from her family, you can rest easy with that."

"Take her." Petunia offered with a dismissive wave.

Again, James could only offer a stunned stare her way.

"Pardon?" James demanded.

"Are you thick, Potter? I thought you were supposed to be the smartest freak in the show back at that school of yours." Petunia spat. "You want to run off with my sister, by all means. She belongs in your bizarre fantasyland more than she does in this respectable home. You both can just sit about, pulling rabbits from your pointed hats until you find yourself tied to some stake with a roaring fire at your feet."

"Hold on, you don't like me because I'm a wizard?" James attempted to clarify the root of Petunia's hostility.

"Whatever you call yourself." Petunia affirmed.

James felt blown away. It hadn't occurred to him that some Muggles might be bigoted towards Wizards, but James felt silly for not considering it before. After all, there were such prejudices in his world. Still, the fact that Lily's own sister chose to maintain such narrow-minded opinions was obscene to James.

"So I gather you reckon your sister is a 'freak' just like me?" James pressed.

"If not bigger." Petunia retorted. "I suppose I can't fault you entirely for your wretched state since you were born into it, but Lily had an option. She could have lived a proper life without your kind's parlor tricks and nonsense, but she CHOSE to be an abomination. I wanted to think this was just some phase she'd pass through until she got her head on straight, but she's intent on becoming the biggest freak in the lot and our parents praise her for it! It's appalling the lives you people lead."

James chewed on some words in his mouth like a hunk of taffy. He looked away from Petunia and took a deep breath to as not to say something heated or unintended. Once he felt himself properly composed, James returned his attention to Petunia.

"I know I'm a guest in your home, but I feel obliged to say your attitude is utterly offensive." James reported.

Petunia's long neck twisted sharply so James could see the flare in her eyes.

"I beg your pardon!" Petunia screeched indignantly.

"You bloody well should!" James agreed sternly. "Your regard for your sister is intolerable. There is not a single thing wrong with Lily and if that's escaped your notice than I'm not the thick one between us. Listen to yourself, bitter and ignorant because you can't be bothered to think past your own life!"

In spite of his better efforts, James felt himself becoming swept along with his rant.

"You know what the most infuriating part of all this is? She's your sister." James chided. "What I'd give to have ANY family and you're willing to just give up Lily because her life is different from yours? Well, Petunia, I can tell you firsthand that the world is a lonely place and tossing out perfectly good family members is a brilliant plan to land yourself alone."

"How DARE you make such predictions about my life!" Petunia observed James with a sneer. "I have a proper fiancée, I'll do just fine for myself, thank you. And if you're the best my sister can manage for herself than she deserves whatever rotten fate you have to offer her."

Fed up with Petunia's slander, James forgot himself and most of his manners as he was fully intent on giving Lily's sister a full piece of his mind.

"You know something – " James pointed his finger to Petunia and was shocked to see her reel back in a terrified flinch.

"You – your plotting to curse me!" Petunia stammered, wide-eyed.

"What?" James was probably more taken aback than Petunia at this moment.

"Don't you point at me, you awful boy!" Petunia ordered, but the fear in her voice betrayed any command to her words. "You want to curse me because you don't like that I see you and my sister for the unnatural things you both are!"

James felt his eyes narrowed from behind his spectacles. Lowering his hand, he gave off a frustrated snort as he turned back to enter back into the house.

"Curse you? Honestly!" James shook his head. "I wouldn't strain my voice on the words."

Petunia hugged herself as she watched James step into the house, calling in before the door could shut.

"Mum, I can't take it anymore! I'm going to Yvonne's!" Petunia hollered. "Have a GRAND time with your odd guest, Lily!"

The remaining member of the Evans family entered into the sitting room carrying a tray of coffee and the sweets James had brought along. Mrs. Evans had a tight frown across her lips and an apologetic expression to her eyes.

"James, I must ask you to forgive Petunia's behavior this evening." Mrs. Evans requested. "I'm afraid that even after six years she hasn't entirely adjusted to the unique circumstances that surround our family's life."

"It's quite alright." James smiled.

"Well, let's attempt to have a nice evening shall we?" Mr. Evans urged as they took their seats in the living room and settled the tray on the coffee table between them.

It was dusk by the time Severus and Aurora found their way out of the maze. Leading her back to the party so she could find Lucius and be on her way, Severus spied his mother talking with her sisters: Horae and Grace. The three women were identical triplets, nearly indistinguishable in their features and demeanor. The only difference was Aunt Grace habitually monopolized the conversation with her gossip and Horae seemed to be the more even-tempered of her sisters. All three possessed a fondness of Severus and Winifred and a biting wit for everyone else.

They were also absolute harpies when they got together.

Severus steered Aurora in the opposite direction of his maternal line and hoped his mother was too busy cackling with her sisters to take notice of them. Lucius, Arcanus Snape, and a few other associates from the Ministry were gathered in a cabal near the edge of his mother's rose guarded.

"I should leave you to be on your way." Severus decided. "You've been forced to waste enough time here today between Lucius's negligence and my Mother's insistence."

"I never waste my time, Severus." Aurora smiled. "I always spend it however I care to."

Aurora placed a hand on Severus's should and left it there possibly longer than she needed to.

"Thank you for showing me about." Aurora went on. "You have an interesting home and even more interesting family. It's something to be proud of."

"Should I?" Severus wondered.

"Oh yes." Aurora insisted. "Although I don't necessarily agree with or understand everything about your situation, you've managed to end up a level-headed young man who knows where he stands in his own family and refuses to budge an inch on that. It says something about your character."

"As does your relentless tolerance for your brother." Severus offered. "Thank you for coming even though it wasn't your intention. You made this day more tolerable than it would have been otherwise."

"I wasn't aware that I had managed such a feat!" Aurora laughed though Severus was fairly certain it wasn't at him. "I should return the favor sometime. If you end up near London before you're off holiday, send me a message and we'll have a luncheon at Diagon Alley. I live and work there so I can always free up an afternoon for a friend in town."

"That's a possibility." Severus considered. "I could probably do well to restock my potion supplies before school resumes term."

"All right then." Aurora agreed. "Pleasure seeing you again, as always Severus. Keep in touch and have a lovely evening."

"You as well, Aurora." Severus bowed his head slightly as a parting gesture as he turned around and headed for the main house. He wasn't in the mood to commiserate with his family or their friends as he was confident the evening could only go down from there on out. Inspired by her presence, Severus decided to attempt to finish charming the gift he had been grappling with for the past month.

Climbing the stone steps of the balcony connecting to the second level, Severus groaned inwardly as he saw his Aunt Vates descending them simultaneously and making the avoidance of any conversation impossible unless he cared to leap over the rail.

"And what happened to your little dark sunrise?" Vates raised an eyebrow.

"She has departed for the evening." Severus hoped this would be the end of their dialogue.

"Although she might not have been interested, would you care to know what I have seen?" Vates baited.

"Not in the very least." Severus shook his head but doubted that would be enough to deter the woman. While she might not impose her predictions on strangers, Vates had little compulsion about tormenting blood.

"That woman suffers for her love." Vates continued as expected. "It is a dangerous pain because she embraces it so freely."

"I'm aware of Aurora's martyring inclination." Severus retuned softly.

"Well, perhaps it will bring you comfort to know, my Nephew, is that Aurora will only bear the most burdens for those who mean the most to her. A sacrifice she never offers unless she is willing." Vates patted Severus on the shoulder.

"Why would that matter to me?" Severus demanded.

"Do you really want an oracle to answer that? It takes some of the sport out of being a moody teenage boy." Vates smirked.

Severus scowled.

"I think I'll go now before you attempt to goad me into anymore self-fulfilling prophesies you've cobble together." Severus said pointedly.

"One more question Severus." Vates requested. "Do you find it humorous for the sun to chase the moon as the moon chases its heart?"

Severus stopped on his steps and spun around at the allusion to the myth of Selene and Endymion.

"It is such a charming notion, really, but soon the moon will chase the sun, the sun will set and everything the day brought with it will be laid into a restless sleep. It is just how these things work." Vates vaguely rambled on. "You will get the joke in all this in time. You will probably need to explain it to your dawn however. I am afraid the subtitles of it might be lost on her."

"What do you mean?" Severus pressed.

"Come now, Severus. When did you start believing in prophecies?" Vates challenged as she continued down the stairs.

Severus knew he believed enough in them to not like them.

Winifred had lost interest in the party long before it had even begun and retreated to the sanctity of her bedchambers at Severus's home. She was rarely acknowledged at these functions on account that she wasn't an overachieving genius in some field of magic or a socialite who kept a tight reign on the topic of conversation. If it wasn't for the fact she was cunning and shrewd mixed with the right amount of offsetting, Winifred was sure she'd be ignored entirely.

Initially the room had just been guest quarters that Winifred happened to frequently occupy, but somewhere around the age of ten it unofficially became Winifred's as it was decorated to her specifications and contained more personally artifacts than she cared to keep at home.

In a way, Winifred living most of the time with her cousin's family was largely responsible for having anything resembling a relationship with her brothers and father. They were almost pleased to see her when they made an effort to every few months.

There was a light knock on the door. Winifred turned to acknowledge Severus's mother as she entered.

"Fabulous party, Erinyes." Winifred praised with a smile that Erinyes entered. "I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves.

"I received no complaints." Erinyes nodded. "Of course, I imagine no one would lodge them to my face if they did."

"Probably not." Winifred agreed as she approached her vanity and started to undo her hair.

Erinyes Snape joined Winifred and helped the girl to smooth out her dark layers with a brush. It was a very maternal gesture that caused Winifred to wonder if Erinyes ever showed a similar side to Severus. She could only assume that her cousin and his mother had their own understanding and kindnesses between them. Winifred assumed her feminine gender might have something to do with the overt quality of Erinyes attention.

"You look more like your mother every year." Erinyes observed as she worked the bristles of the brush through Winifred's hair. "I knew you would mirror her when I first saw you. It was why I insisted your father give you her name."

"I had always assumed that Father did so out of tribute." Winifred mused as she watched Erinyes through the mirror.

The older woman's face formed an expression that suggested she was almost insulted by this assumption.

"I do not believe your father would be so sentimental to honor your mother like that." Erinyes replied. "Winifred was like a sister to me in Hogwarts and in our short time after. When I learned we were marrying into the same family line, I was thrilled. Her death. . . her death was hard to accept."

"I wish I knew her." Winifred's tone was ambivalent in spite of her words. It was hard for her to feel anything for her mother, a woman she knew only through the memories of others.

A woman she killed selfishly to be born.

Winifred never knew how to feel about her mother.

"I do not believe you need to worry about knowing your mother." Erinyes assured, as though reading Winifred's thoughts. "Not with your appearance and disposition so much like hers."

"It's largely attributed to your influence." Winifred decided. "You practically raised me."

Erinyes smiled reminiscently.

It was a rare expression on account of its sincerity.

"I would have liked a daughter." Erinyes confessed. "I suppose I could have had another child, but that would have been unfair to Severus. I wanted to be there for him exclusively; so all my energy would be invested in him and the man he would become. You were around often enough for me to indulge that desire but since you were not my child of flesh and blood I never worried about Severus feeling threatened by your presence."

"I don't believe so either." Winifred said. "I think he accepts that my relationship with you is different from the one you possess with him. That he is always first to you."

"Still, you are important to both myself and Severus. I believe, as much as he is capable of it, even Severus's father is fond of you." Erinyes patted Winifred's shoulder. "I rest easier knowing you and Severus are in Slytherin together, in the same Year. You have your strengths that help one another, that makes each of you successful and strong. It was what I wanted most for Severus, to have a confidante and ally in this life when I was unavailable or he grew too mature and independent for me to serve such a function. It's good fro Severus to have a young woman like you in his life."

Setting the brush down, Erinyes placed both her hands on Winifred's shoulders. There was something both proud and possessive in the gesture. Winifred felt like a doll, treasured and groomed with a specific purpose in mind.

To provide someone with an unspoken comfort and amusement.

"I've always been grateful for the care you've shown me, Erinyes." Winifred smiled softly. "I would do anything to repay you and your family for accepting me."

"That's nice." Erinyes stepped away from Winifred to examine some of the shelved objects decorating the room. "Did you meet Aurora Black?"

"Briefly." Winifred nodded.

"She is an Analyst, you know. Her profession is probably a great service in tending to that troubled brother of hers." Erinyes suspected.

"Troubled?" Winifred questioned. "I never really thought of Black as disturbed. Odd or annoying perhaps, but . . ."

Erinyes neck turned so quickly it almost provoked Winifred to jump in surprise.

"Severus mentioned nothing to you?" Erinyes raised her eyebrow; evidently she had initially assuming otherwise.

Winifred realized she was missing something in the conversation.

"He's mentioned his dislike of Black and a few instances to support it, but nothing to suggest it was anything more concerning than a school boy grudge." Winifred reported the most she knew.

Erinyes brooded over this silently, leaving Winifred only to speculate what the woman was alluding to.

"I would explain things to you; however it has been deeply encouraged that I maintain a certain measure of silence on the matter." Erinyes finally said in a bitter note. "Perhaps your peer Copia or Severus himself might be able to fill in the blanks on the deplorable quality of Sirius Black."

Winifred wondered what Florence Copia had to say on Sirius Black and Severus's feud and whatever she was missing. Mentally, she made note to investigate this later on since it would be a futile effort with Erinyes as she was most likely through handing out breadcrumbs on the subject.

"I take it you don't approve of him speaking with Black's sister then." Winifred prompted, curious if Erinyes mother had reason to suspect there was more to be concerned about than a few stray conversations during an afternoon.

"I suspect it will only be problematic later on." Erinyes vaguely stated. "Severus would do fine without the . . . complications Aurora Black could introduce into his life."

Winifred was beginning to catch Erinyes meaning. She suspected that it was Black's sister that Severus had been maintaining contact with over several months and the way he interacted with her . . . Winifred had never seen Severus' attention so devoted to a single thing.

Winifred suddenly felt discarded.

"I doubt we are due any true concern in this matter. Severus is a very rational and reserved individual. It is unlikely that there will be anything to cause and of us duress." Erinyes sounded as though she were attempting to convince the bother of them of this.

In the back of her mind, Winifred questioned if Erinyes had been hoping to bait some jealousy within Winifred throughout the entire conversation. To make her eager to superimpose herself between Severus and Aurora? To rival a woman that Erinyes most definitely did not approve of for her son with one she had expressed a fondness of one more than one occasion?

Winifred felt used and discarded now.

"I'm sure you're right." Winifred agreed flatly. "If not, I can always remind Severus of his priorities."

"You were always very skilled at that." Erinyes Snape smiled knowingly as she walked over to touch Winifred's face affectionately. "So very much like your mother. . ."

With those words, Winifred finally felt something for her mother.

She felt sorry for her.

Out of an unnatural consideration as far as parents go, Mr. and Mrs. Evans bid James an early farewell to leave him and Lily sometime alone on the front stoop to catch up. Seated side by side on the bench Petunia had previously occupied, the low whistle of the wind and the distant rumble of thunder provided a soothing backdrop for the young couple to sit with.

"You're parents are amazing to leave you alone with your boyfriend." James praised.

"Well, let's not pat them on the backs too hard." Lily grinned. "They set us outside figuring we wouldn't do anything too scandalous in such a public place."

"Is that a hint we should set out to prove them wrong." James teased.

"No." Lily chuckled.

"Damn." James sighed. "Oh well, I had fun this night. Your parents seem to like me AND you sister seems to hate me."

"That's not your fault." Lily assured. "Petunia is a difficult person to get along with."

"Was she always like that?" James inquired.

"No. She was always a little moody because that's just her nature but she wasn't this bad before. . ." Lily trailed off.

"Before you were accepted to Hogwarts?" James finished.

"Yes." Lily nodded.

"You don't blame yourself for Petunia being a bigot do you?" James questioned.

"Not really, no." Lily shook her head. "It's just hard sometimes."

"I get that." James said sympathetically. "I never really appreciated how hard it could be for the Muggle born until I got a taste of the opposite. Whoever heard of a pureblood wizard being discriminated against! I certainly didn't before today, but I'm not going to complain. You deal with this sort of thing every day and it's a hundred times worse because of the way the Wizarding World is set up. Not only that, but you get the same exact thing at home."

James turned to Lily and brushed her cheek gently.

"It's like you don't belong anywhere and that breaks my heart." James's tone was soft. "You're so wonderful everyone should want to be around you."

"It's alright." Lily smiled as she leaned into James's shoulder. "I know who my friends are, who I'm important to. That's all I need. I can hold my head up high through the rest of it."

"You're truly my better half." James decided. "I was just about to offer hexing the lot of any who dare cross you."

The young couple shared a laugh. As it died down with a fresh peal of thunder, Lily stole a glance at James.

"How are you holding up?" Lily asked.

"Why do you ask?" James wondered.

"You seem, I don't know, a bit sad." Lily noticed awkwardly as she pushed some of her red hair behind her ear. "It's like you were going through the motions most of the night. I guess I assumed you'd be a little happier to see me."

"I am!" James insisted as he took Lily's hand. "I truly am. I haven't been the same without you around me and this is the first time since I left you at King's Cross that I feel whole. But, yeah, I do feel a bit off-color."

"Why?" Lily asked with concern.

"Families." James summed it up. "I've been surrounded by them since we went on holiday. The Longbottoms, your family, and the Blacks soon enough. I just really feel like I'm missing out on something and there's not a whole lot I or anyone can do to remedy the situation."

Lily wasn't entirely sure what to say in reply to this. She could understand why James was depressed but she couldn't know. Knowing she had her parents or even Petunia meant so much to her and James had nothing like that to fall back on. She pushed a tentative hand through his uneven hair and squeezed his hand with the other.

"You have me." Lily offered. "It's not much, I know – "

"It's everything." James cut her off as he turned to her.

Lily felt herself blush slightly but she kept smiling.

"I have lots of people who care for me like a second family, like the Blacks and the Longbottoms." James explained. "But I'm still on the outside in the end. And then there's you. It's like you're mine, there for me and me alone. Like it's the start of something bigger and better than what I have going for me right this moment."

"I'm flattered that you think of me like that." Lily accepted with a sincere grin. "And I know what you mean. Being with you, it's so special to me. You're like my best friend and my true love all in the same stroke. I find so much of myself through you I don't know how I ever got along before you became the most important part of my life James. I don't suspect I'd get on very well without you."

"You don't have to worry about that." James promised. "You don't have to worry about ANYTHING. I'll take care of you always, Lily. You won't have to worry or want for anything as long as I'm there."

"But I don't want that." Lily confessed. "I don't want to be maintained. I want someone who depends on me like I depend on them. A partner."

James met his eyes to Lily in a deliberate sort of look.

It wasn't lost on either of them just how adult this conversation sounded.

"Well, I would depend on you for a sense of fashion since you're certainly in possession of a better one than myself." James lightened the mood. "And I can always contribute new and interesting ways to bend every last law the Ministry has ever bothered to establish for the sake of our personal amusement."

"So basically we make up wisdom and whimsy between us?" Lily mused while smirking.

"It's worked so far." James observed with a smile. Sighing, he glanced at his pocket watch and looked mournfully at Lily.

"I should be off soon."

Lily wrapped her arms around the length of James's body as though he would try and leave that very instant.

"Just a bit longer."

James smiled as he held Lily as close to him as the confines of their human forms would allow, kissing the top of her head.

"How about a lifetime?" He offered.

"That would do just fine."

Sirius was bored.

When Sirius was bored, Sirius got in trouble.

Presently, this included his sister Acontiae as they occupied the same kitchen space. She was helping herself to some milk and cookies on hand that Celestine had made earlier on. Sirius was attempting to inhale as many handfuls as he could manage to ensure he would be well wired for the remainder of the evening.

"You'll get acne if you keep stuffing your face like that." Acontiae reported.

"You'll get fat if you keep stuffing your arse like that." Sirius retorted.

Acontiae glared at her younger brother as he offered a cookie filled grin.

"I can't believe you're the favorite." Acontiae muttered.

"I'm not." Sirius replied, swallowing his mouthful. "Aurora is the favorite, I'm the favored, and Celestine is caught somewhere in the middle of all that."

"And I'm left out in the cold." Acontiae sneered.

"Not that you help things all that much." Sirius snorted. "If it makes you feel better, Mum and Dad have always spent about twice as much on you as they have the rest of us. You're the spoiled one."

"Hush money, I imagine." Acontiae rolled her eyes. "In exchange for being silent about all the emotional neglect I suffer."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad REALLY aren't getting their galleon's worth." Sirius shook his head. "You won't shut up about how the poor, little pureblooded witch with her own wing and enough shoes and cloaks to outfit Hogwarts has such a rough time."

Acontiae's face offered that annoyed expression that always managed to satisfy Sirius before she turned towards the doorway.

"MUM! CAN'T WE SHIP SIRIUS OFF THE DURMSTRAM LIKE DAD WANTED!" Acontiae complained through the archway.

"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Black called back from a different room in the wing. "Those students are bad enough without your brother's influence!"

Sirius let off a mad cackle as he pilfered a few more cookies and ruffled Acontiae's hair, causing her to growl.

"Another thing, Sirius." Acontiae called him back. "When are you going to outgrow this whole starry-eyed little brother phase of yours?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius demanded, turning around.

"You and Aurora." Acontiae spoke as though it were obvious. "It's getting a bit creepy."

"No it's not!" Sirius spat back childishly.

"YES it is!" Acontiae insisted. "You're both far too old to be caring on like you ALWAYS do! Walking around, arm in arm, cooing at one another and swearing off any other company for your own! People are going to start talking and I don't want people looking at me funny because . . ."

"Because what?" Sirius growled. "Going to use the "I" word to describe me and Aurora?"

"What if I do?" Acontiae challenged. "Not like either of you are giving people much to go on otherwise."

"Acontiae, you don't know what you're talking about." Sirius said flat out, trying to keep his temper. "Aurora and I just have a bond, alright? Like the sort of things twins can have but different. There's nothing wrong with us."

"Fine, I'll drop it." Acontiae relented. "But at least think about how it looks from the outside position of things. That is unless you're plotting to offer your "special bond" speech to everyone you meet."

"Whatever." Sirius deflected. "Night, Sis."

"Night." Acontiae went back to pouring a fresh glass of milk.

"Night Mum!" Sirius called to where he had last heard his mother's voice.

"Night, Luv." Mrs. Black returned as Sirius made his way over to the conservatory and sitting room they kept in the house.

Sirius was delighted to see Aurora already taking her seat in front of the piano.

"Hey just get back?" Sirius grinned as he went to join his sister. She nodded as she made room for him on the bench next to her.

"I should have known you'd be up." Aurora commented. "Care to keep me company for a bit?"

"Absolutely." Sirius beamed as he flexed his fingers and began to play with Aurora. It was a mellow piece so as not to disturb the rest of the house.

"So where did you go today?" Sirius inquired.

"I had to spend most of the day tracking Lucius down on behalf of work." Aurora sighed.

"You're. . . you're not back with him are you?" Sirius tenitively asked.

"No." Aurora shook her head.

"I know this isn't going to make into the Daily Prophet, but I hate it when you're with him." Sirius admitted quietly.

"I know that, Sir." Aurora nodded. "I guess the only question is why don't you like Lucius?"

"I know you'd probably love to analyze it as some need to be the focus of your attention but I'm afraid it's woefully normal, dear sister." Sirius replied. "I hate him because you won't."

Aurora stole a glance at her brother.

"I'm going to have to ask you to explain this to me, I think." Aurora requested with interest.

"I remember when I was little, seven or eight years old, you'd be home for the holidays or off-term and sometimes I'd hear you sobbing in the night." Sirius recalled. "It took me a while to get it, but eventually I knew it was Malfoy. More importantly I knew he didn't even care that he made you cry. Now that I'm older I get it more, Malfoy's just one of those emotionally abusive prats who needs a strong girl to tear down so he can feel powerful."

"Maybe you should be the analyst in the family." Aurora smile flickered but remained on her face.

"Don't do that." Sirius insisted gravely. "Don't hide behind your smile and dry remarks, ignoring the problem right in front of your face. You're not made of stone, Aura, and when you give me that default smile it's like. . . it's like something is dead in you."

"I'll work on that for you." Aurora promised.

"I've got another question." Sirius went on.

"Alright." Aurora waited.

"Did you write Severus Snape back around February?" Sirius kept his eyes on his sister.

"Why do you suspect that?" Aurora probed.

"I thought I saw Helios deliver something to him." Sirius rationalized.

"Well you did." Aurora admitted.

"Why the bloody hell are you writing him?" Sirius demanded.

"Because we met around your suspension from school." Aurora's tone was cool. "I was merely curious to see how he was getting along considering I felt somewhat responsible for any troubles on his part."

"Yeah, well that was my mess and you had no part in it. You have no reason to feel guilty or apologize to Snape." Sirius countered. "He's such a prat I'm sorry you had to talk to him."

"What's so wrong with Severus Snape?" Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want the creepy reasons or the undiluted evil ones?" Sirius smirked. "He looks and acts like he's not Severus but rather Severus Snape's corpse animated from the dead to skulk about being pale and unnerving. While he's doing this, Snape likes to be hypercritical of everything that's not done by him since he's so bloody perfect and has a personality about as easy to cozy up against as a jagged glacier with rabid wolves patrolling for the first opportunity to snap at you."

"He sounds positively like a nightmare. Let us write the Ministry this instant and have something done about the threat he posses to all-Wizard kind." Aurora teased, causing Sirius to laugh.

"Yeah, I know I'm being dramatic, I still don't like him though." Sirius admitted. "No one holds a grudge like that wanker."

"Present company excluded?" Aurora raised an eyebrow to her younger brother.

"I'm not that bad." Sirius insisted.

"No of course you aren't." Aurora agreed. "But I'm your loving sister so I'm very biased on that matter."

"That's another thing." Sirius pressed plunged on with the conversation and the piece they jointly played. "Acontiae was telling me how perverse you and I are. Like it's wrong for us to be this close."

"Acontiae is . . . difficult." Aurora carefully said. "She feels as though she's not as special as the rest of us, which isn't true in the least. Most of what she says is for attention and I doubt she means even half of it. I think she's just jealous that she doesn't have the same kind of relationships everyone else seems to have. Mine and yours, Celestine and Dad's, or Mum's with pretty much all of us."

"So I should just ignore her on this?" Sirius clarified.

"I intend to." Aurora informed.

"Well, she did say something that had me wondering." Sirius confessed. "Acontiae thinks that because we're so involved in one another we're blowing off perfectly good suitors."

"Are you lonely?" Aurora asked with a worried expression.

"Oddly, no." Sirius shrugged. "I thought I might be eventually, but I'm not."

"Don't you ever just want a girlfriend, Sirius?" Aurora questioned.

"Sometimes, but it's rarely for the emotional stuff." Sirius clarified.

"So it's for sixteen year old male stuff then?" Aurora smiled almost knowingly.

"Seventeen year old male stuff in a few more days." Sirius replied with a grin. "Yeah, it's usually pretty shallow. I know that going in most of the time so I usually end up with these shallow girls because I don't want to sting anyone along unfairly."

"Why don't you ever want anything deeper?" Aurora asked curiously.

"Because I have you for that." Sirius rationalized. "That's why I'm worried if our relationship is weird. I don't really care to find a girl to connect with because you know me better than I know me and I've got James and the others for any remaining intimacy I might want of a person. I'm content the way things are."

Aurora paused as she seemed to be deeply thinking about something.

"Sirius, I'm not going to always be here exclusively for you." Aurora finally said gently.

She turned to look at Sirius.

Sirius turned to look away.

"I know that." Sirius replied quietly as well. "I'm not asking you to either, you know. I guess I just wanted to take for granted that you'd go about with casual sorts of guys, I'd go about with casual sorts of girls, and we'd still pretty much just have each other."

"That might be enough now, but it won't always." Aurora reasoned. "You'll get to an age sometime where you'll want a family of your own. . .I'm finding myself near that age now. I love you Sirius, more than probably anything in this life, but that kind of love can't be all I have to look forward to and it shouldn't be something you settle for either."

"So where does this leave us?" Sirius questioned

Aurora took her hands from the keys and placed her arms around Sirius. He hugged her back tightly.

"No place different." Aurora assured. "The sun will rise tomorrow and we'll still be a brother and sister who mean the world to one another. We'll just have to learn to share the spotlight a bit with someone else."

"Just promise it won't be Lucius Malfoy." Sirius requested.

"I promise." Aurora could honestly agree.

"Good, I'd hate to disappoint you by killing the git."

"You're going to be a tough act to follow, my darling, charming younger brother."

"You're likewise hard to replace, my wonderful, wise elder sister."

Although Aurora had said nothing had changed, the fact they admitted the reality of things aloud had made everything different. Recognizing one another as young adults whom had needs and desires that no sibling could completely fulfill. In a way, the Black siblings felt as though they had failed each other a bit after spending their entire relationship devoted to one another and not be able to be the only person for them in the end.

In the silence of the conservatory, Sirius and Aurora mourned whatever was lost between them and each felt a hollow apprehension as they silently contemplated what they would attempt to fill these voids with.

Because Oy! Angie loves her puns and Greek Myths

Horae The Hours or a trio of Goddesses in ancient Greece who represented Lawfulness, Justice, and Peace.

Grace The Graces, another trio of Goddesses who embodied Beauty, Joy, and Blooming

Vates Latin word for a Prophetess


	30. Pestilent Presences

Pestilent Presences

By: Oy! Angelina

You are humbly invited to the 17th birthday celebration of Sirius Black.

Festivities will be held April 2nd & 3rd as the Black family estate. Parents wishing to have their children stay overnight for both days are asked to give their permission in their Owl RSVP.

Separate witch/wizard sleeping accommodations will be provided.

Please be sure to be in physical possession of this invitation at 3 p.m. April 2nd so you will be brought to the party.

We look forward to your presence.

"I'm willing to wager knuts to donuts that these invitations were NOT authored by Sirius," James inspected his own invitation with a smirk, "the lack of swearing is a dead giveaway."

"I think the world will do well without Sirius's experimentation in randy limericks," Lily decided as she grinned at James, "Oh, my I didn't know they made houses this big!"

Lily marveled at the Black family's home as she walked hand in hand with James towards the sounds of the party along with practically everyone else in their Year.

They had only arrived a moment ago, courtesy of their invitations. Mrs. Black had all the invitations enchanted as Portkeys to bring guest of the party down the hill from it so as not to have people suddenly popping up in the middle of party tables and decorations.

"What do they even DO with all this space?" Lily questioned James.

"Redecorate. Often; with Sirius about," James laughed before childishly adding, "my house is bigger though."

"You boys; always comparing the size of things," Lily teased, causing James to stumble a bit as he carried both their overnight bags.

"And you were complaining about SIRIUS?" James laughed harder.

"What did I do now?"

Sirius bounded up to his friends with a broad grin, waving to the rest of the party goers as they passed him by.

"Well if it isn't the man of the hour!" James offered Sirius a hug and passed a gift from him and Lily over to him.

"Happy birthday," Lily beamed, "I was just commenting on how you have such a nice home."

"Yeah, it's great here!" Sirius nodded, "tons of things to do since the lot of us are spoiled rotten."

There was an awful lot of fidgeting on Sirius's end of the conversation.

"Sirius, are you twitching?" Lily observed as she eyed the birthday boy.

"Probably!" Sirius's expression was slightly manic, "I've been eating cake and chugging Butterbeer since six in the morning in preparation for the party!"

James put a protective arm around Lily and started to lead her off.

"Yeah, we'll be steering clear of you until you come down from the sugar high, Mate," James chuckled, "where should we put our overnight stuff?"

"You're stuff in my room and Lily's in Aurora's," Sirius directed, "that's where the girls are staying."

Catching sight of Remus, Arabella, and Peter, Sirius darted to intercept his other friends merrily.

"Happy Birthday, Sirius!" Arabella greeted as she offered him a friendly hug and a peck on the cheek. Remus and Peter took turns patting him on the back.

"So what are you planning on doing now that you have half the school here?" Peter inquired as he gestured around.

"Dad's got some friends who outfit the Appleby Arrows and arranged for us to be able to play a game of Quidditch with some equipment on loan," Sirius gleefully informed, "it's going to be mad fun later on!"

"Bloody hell, you spoiled prat!" Arabella teased, "Your parents really don't mind bending over backwards for you do they?"

"Oh that's nothing special we used to do it all the time for Aurora's parties when she was playing Keeper for Ravenclaw," Sirius insisted, "apart from Quidditch, I have nothing more up my sleeve than the shenanigans that will have my Mum informing everyone in the hemisphere of my middle name."

"Which is?" Arabella prompted.

"Ah, that ruins the inevitable surprise of it all," Sirius winked before becoming a thoughtful host and gesturing towards the main house, "oh, if you're looking to unburden your luggage, just put your stuff in my room and show Arabella over to Aurora's. Lily and James just went off to do that so they'll be along in a bit."

"Sounds good," Remus nodded before turning to Peter, "why not grab a table for us all to meet up at, I can manage your bag to the room."

"Thanks," Peter handed it off to Remus and watched him head off with Arabella's hand in his.

"You know they're probably just looking for a moment alone," Sirius wagered with a knowing grin.

"Wouldn't you?" Peter replied casting a nod at Arabella, reducing him and Sirius to wider grins.

Since she had requested it, James took Lily on a tour of the ground floor of the house after a quick stop off in the interest of their luggage. James was pretty familiar with the Black family and their home and thought that showing Lily the parlors, sitting rooms, and libraries wouldn't be too intrusive on his part. Lily seemed fairly impressed by the level of opulence in the rooms and halls while still retaining an inviting and lived-in touch.

"Who do you suspect will be staying over too?" Lily prompted.

"Probably mostly Gryffindors," James shrugged, "Sirius gets along well enough with most everyone outside out House but the probably lack the tolerance required to deal with him on a twenty-four hour basis."

"It's a wonder you, Remus, and Peter, have faired so well all these years," Lily smirked.

"We've come up with a lot of charms against most things Sirius, otherwise none of us would get a wink of sleep from paranoia," James confided, "I'll be sleeping with one eye open since we're on his turf for the next few days."

"Pity we can't sleep in the same room," Lily sighed, "I've barely seen you for two weeks and the most we'll probably see of one another will be back at school."

"Not necessarily," James mused as he stopped walking with Lily near an alcove and pulled his arms around her, "I know my way well enough around the Black property to find a secluded place or two. It would be poor form to vanish on Sirius during his party but I doubt anyone will miss us if we take an hour or so to ourselves tomorrow."

Lily turned to James, grinning at the proposition.

"I wouldn't be entirely opposed to that," she teased.

"Okay then," James murmured against Lily's cheek in an affectionate sort of nuzzle that she reciprocated happily, "guess I'll just have to behave and settle for publicly sanctioned pets and kisses until then."

James felt Lily smiling into his cheek.

"I suppose so . . ." Lily moved her mouth across James's, provoking the deepest kiss they've shared since their night on her front stoop. The delay of such simple pleasure brought out a more intense reaction than either would normally experience from just a kiss.

Pulling away from the long overdue embrace, James grappled with his sense of resolve on the matter of holding back any longer.

"You know, I reckon Sirius would understand if we vanished for just a bit," James breathed.

Like in most other situations, Lily retained her position as the voice of reason.

"Only after he wormed all the bloody details out of you," Lily wagered, "come along now, you randy boy, other people will be wondering what happened to Sirius's best friend and his girl."

Suppressing his longing and frustrations in the interests of polite behavior, James steeled himself with a deep breath and nodded in agreement. It had to be a nod because anything that escaped his lips would take on the form of protest or begging most assuredly.

With a mutual reluctance, Lily and James returned to the party.

"Did you get around to saying hello to everyone?" Aurora asked her brother as he sat at a table, attempting to catch grapes in his mouth after tossing them into the air.

"More or less," Sirius guessed, "thanks again for putting the girls up in your suite."

"Not at all, I'm not even going to be there for them to bother if they were so inclined," Aurora said indifferently.

"Oh yeah?" Sirius stopped playing with his food, "You heading back to your flat then?"

"After the party, yes," Aurora nodded, "I have a lunch date tomorrow."

"Not Malfoy?" Sirius raised his eyebrow hopefully.

"Not, Lucius, no," Aurora assured, "now stop prying and enjoy your party. You have a mountain of gifts to tear through later on along with your best friends staying over for the night. You won't have any time to miss me."

"Yeah, but while I have you here, I think I'll go back to prying," Sirius grinned mischievously, "whom are you seeing tomorrow? A friend, patient, or other?"

Aurora smiled at her younger brother before affectionately ruffling his hair and walking off without a reply. Sirius watched his eldest sister with a broad grin before calling after her.

"I'm taking that as 'other'!"

Resuming his grape toss, Sirius leaned back in his chair to get a better angle while he waited for Peter and the rest of his friends to find their way over to the table to help amuse him. Sirius nearly chocked when he heard a voice from behind him.

"You have a very lovely home, Black. And here I was convinced you were reared in the wild."

Daring a glance, Sirius saw Winifred Wilkes was standing behind his chair.

The sheer unexpectedness of the scene caused Sirius to topple over backwards and onto the grass. Winifred had the sense to step back so at to not be hit by Sirius as she gazed down at him.

"Having men at your feet must be nothing knew for you," Sirius attempted to save some face as he smiled at the brunette Slytherin.

"No, but boys certainly provide an interesting change of pace," Winifred smiled back, "Happy birthday."

Springing to his feet, Sirius stood up so he was facing Winifred while brushing blades of grass of his pants. Winifred was dressed in a maroon cloak that reached her knees, tan tailored pants, and tall leather boots. It reminded Sirius of a horseback ridding or fox hunting outfit.

Of course there was always something a bit predatory about the girl.

"As my decision to attend was entirely last minute, I brought you only a small token as a gift," Winifred explained as she handed Sirius a plotted plant.

On a stem similar to a tulip's, six fat petals clung to a golden center. Sirius accepted the gift, not entirely certain how to react since he had never been given flowers before. It had always struck him as something a man normally does for a woman about there wasn't all that much normal about Winifred.

"Well thank you!" Sirius beamed as he examined the flowers, "What kind are they?"

"Narcissus," Winifred reported with a smile.

Sirius chuckled.

"Trying to make a not-so subtle hint, Winifred?" Sirius questioned.

"Well, egotism is a meaning of the plant but it also a gesture of formality between two people and a recommendation to remain as sweet as you are," Winifred went on, "Botany and Gardening are a hobby of mine."

"I imagine you're pretty good at Herbology then," Sirius nodded along.

"It's a very understated magic," Winifred confided, "Severus could go on for hours about the subtitles of Potion work, but Herbology requires memory, patience, and nurturing."

"Which you have abundances of," Sirius wagered.

"When required of me," Winifred agreed.

Sirius processed the exchange for a moment, never taking his attentions off the Slytherin girl.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?" Sirius asked all grins.

"Crashing evidently," Winifred smiled back, "it certainly begs the question of why I wasn't invited."

"A grievous oversight on the host's part," Sirius assured. "what possessed you to come in spite of my poor manners?"

"Someone mentioned they thought I was the type to do whatever I felt like," Winifred mused.

"Brilliant man that," Sirius stated in awe, "actually, I would have invited you but I was pretty sure you wouldn't have come and then I would have to live with the rejection, which probably wouldn't be all that long once it occurred to me to curl into a fetal position beneath the gift table."

"I didn't know you were so fragile, Black," Winifred mused.

"What? Did you think I killed my sensitive side for being too weak or something?" Sirius chuckled before sobering up and glancing around, "Speaking of murder, is your cousin lurking somewhere about as a chaperon or something?"

"I came alone," Winifred assured.

"Don't see how Snape would have let that happen," Sirius admitted.

"I vaguely mentioned my intentions to go out for the afternoon," Winifred shrugged, "Severus probably assumed I was going shopping or intended to return back home for a bit."

Sirius's expression sobered uncharacteristically.

"You don't live with your family?" Sirius questioned, "I mean, like your parents or siblings?"

Winifred paused, as though she hadn't been aware she had said too much on the subject until well after the fact.

"I – " Winifred hesitated her sentence, before rediscovering her confidence, "I do live with my family. My definition of family is just different from yours."

"But you've got people who care for you," Sirius attempted to clarify, "the sort of love that's inherently given."

Winifred chuckled to her self, shaking her head as though Sirius had intended this statement to be somehow humorous.

"Most of the circles I run with would tell you that love, like all things in life, isn't something just handed to you," Winifred informed, "it's something you receive after you prove you deserve having it."

"Yeah, well, no offense but most of the circles you run with a buggered in the head counter-clockwise and thrice over," Sirius decided.

"I suppose that's why you didn't invite them," Winifred snorted a laugh.

"Apart from the intense and immortal loathing, yeah," Sirius confirmed, "you're alright though."

"I doubt I'm much better off than the rest of my House," Winifred admitted.

"Oh you're wicked, but just enough to make you interesting," Sirius insisted.

Winifred nodded to this before folding her hands over themselves.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll take a look around your home," Winfred excused herself.

"I could show you around," Sirius offered.

"And encourage such a rude abandonment of your guests? Hardly," Winifred deflected as she strolled off, "I'll be fine on my own, thank you though."

Accommodating her wishes, Sirius reclaimed his seat at the table as Peter made his way back with a plate of food.

"Was that just Wilkes I saw?" Peter frowned at Sirius as he approached his friend, keeping his eyes on the departing Slytherin girl.

"Yeah, she crashed my bash," Sirius confirmed in amusement. "Girl's all sorts of wicked."

"You've got that right," Peter huffed before taking a sip of his drink.

"Come on, you have to admit that for a Slytherin Wilkes isn't half bad," Sirius grinned.

"Are you referring to her looks or her personality, Padfoot? Because I'm afraid I can only get on board along with one of those," Peter informed pointedly.

Sirius crossed his arms and surveyed his friend.

"What's you're problem?" Sirius demanded.

"Nothing, I just don't remember Sirius Black going soft on Slytherin before this," Peter muttered awkwardly.

"I'm not 'soft on Slytherin'!" Sirius scowled, "What, you think just because Wilkes is a looker that's why she's okay with me? Mary Tudor's a knockout but she's still a barking loony!"

"What's you're excuse for Florence Copia then?" Peter countered hotly.

Sirius flinched before glaring.

Peter sighed.

"I really don't want to fight with you, Padfoot. Honest," Peter relented, "anymore than I want to see you get the twice over by Copia and her school girl chums."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius patted Peter on the back in a forgiving manner.

"Look, I'm just warning you that don't expect Wilkes to shed her skin anytime soon," Peter shrugged, "particularly for her cousin's archrival who happens to be a Gryffindor to boot."

"Who say's I'm after more than some quick quips?" Sirius argued. "Maybe I'm just trying to get to know the girl better."

"Well, from what I know about Winifred Wilkes, you don't want to know her at all, Sirius," Peter warned.

Thinking back to the hesitation on Winifred's part during their exchange, Sirius replied:

"That's just it, Wormtail, I don't think we know the first thing about that girl."

"Hey, want to sneak a look in the garage and see if your parents finally broke down and got you that flying motorbike?" Peter purposefully broke from topic.

Sirius eyes lit up.

"Oh just try and stop me!" Sirius was on his feet with Peter right behind him.

"How did meeting the parents go?" Arabella asked Lily and James as they, along with Remus saw at a table sipping sweet lemonade and enjoying the fair weather.

"We managed unscathed," James reported with a smile.

"So did you two end up seeing one another before now?" Lily inquired of Remus and Arabella.

"Twice," Remus replied, "went out to Arabella's for afternoon tea so I could introduce myself to her mum. Nice woman. Oddly she's a dog person."

"Well I always took after my father more," Arabella grinned, "I also went over to spend the day with Remus and his family. We went for a charming picnic in a clearing near their home."

"Yeah and you all but ignored me in favor of Romulus," Remus groaned while referring to his five year old brother.

"He's bloody adorable! How could I refuse him?" Arabella defended her actions.

"You were pretty good about saying no to me all day," Remus noted with a lopsided grin.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where WERE my manners," Arabella laughed, "I'll be sure to snog you ravaging fashion next time we're out with your family."

"You act like they'd mind!" Remus laughed back. "My mum is so thrilled about the idea of you she's this close to stitching your name on the family quilt."

"Sounds like things are going grand between you," Lily beamed.

"Perfectly," Arabella nodded, sharing Lily's glow, "I trust we can assume the same?"

"To put it modestly," James slipped his hand into Lily's and smiled at his girlfriend.

"Now all Lily and I need to do is find a couple of girls for Sirius and Peter," Arabella decided.

"What's it about being couple-people and the urge to multiply our numbers?" Remus mused.

"I reckon we work it into our heads that we must assimilate or die," James smirked.

"I would assume we just want to see our friends happy," Lily interjected before gazing at some ivy snaking up marble columns outside of Sirius's home, "how do they ever manage to keep everything in such pristine condition with Sirius running about?"

"Magic mostly," James assumed, "that's how my parents kept up our house. Self-polishing charms and anti-dust enchantments go a long way when you're dealing with this much space. House Elves lend a hand for everything other than normal wear and tear."

"House Elves? Like the ones at school?" Lily questioned, "Wizarding families keep them as well?"

"Yeah, practically any main family line or anyone who can flip the coin has a couple running about," James replied obviously before quickly adding, "but I don't expect you to know that."

"Even yours?" Lily wasn't entirely sure how comfortable she was with the notion of wide-spread, unpaid labor in the Wizarding World.

"A few back when my parents were alive," James admitted, "but after they died and no one was really living at the house anymore, I gave most of them up to other families. It would be cruel to leave them alone at the estate most of the year since I'm always at Hogwarts."

"How do you manage that house of yours then?" Remus wondered.

"Oh, Frank and Martha Longbottom look after Binzi when I'm not their, she was the Elf who worked the longest for my family and was around my whole life," James explained, "she goes back with me to the manner during the Summer holiday. I'd probably go out of my skull with loneliness if she weren't around and even though it's just me she finds enough stuff to do around the house to make herself feel useful."

"Why don't you just stay with the Longbottoms?" Lily asked with a frown. She hadn't guessed that James was so isolated when he wasn't at Hogwarts.

"They try to get me too, but I always feel like I'm imposing," James shrugged, "besides my house is the only place that allows me to feel connected to my family still. Sometimes I can turn a corner, half expecting to see any of them coming up the hall . . . and it seems almost bearable."

Neither Arabella, Lily, nor Remus really knew what to say to that.

Still, Lily squeezed James's hand, hoping it might offer something where her words had failed.

Having his fill of laughing and chatting people, Peter decided he could probably disappear for a bit without anyone really taking notice. James and Remus were preoccupied with Lily and Arabella while Sirius had about sixty guests to host. Sneaking off into the billiards room the Black family kept, Peter enjoyed a couple solitary rounds of darts hoping to improve his game a bit. He was sick of always coming in dead last with some pathetic score and figured his other friends would probably want to play a few rounds before their stay at Sirius's was over.

Concentrating on his most recent effort to strike the center of the board, Peter didn't even notice the door open behind him.

"Hello Pettigrew." A silky voice vibrated against the walls.

Jumping in surprise, Peter turned just in time to watch Winifred Wilkes enter into the room and close the door behind her. His throat suddenly went very tight and dry as the tall, dark Slytherin girl approached him with a purposeful expression.

He regretted just tossing that last dart.

"What do you want?" Peter managed to croak out as he felt Winifred's shadow touch him.

"Feel free to guess," Winifred urged with a smile that offered no warmth in it, "I've come to settle our account."

Peter noticeably paled before her black eyes.

"Oh God, what are you going to have me do?" Peter demanded helplessly. His watery eyes were on the verge of tears.

Winifred enjoyed the fear of the boy.

It meant she had control of the situation.

"Nothing you aren't capable of handling," Winifred assured, "I want to know certain things that I suspect you have a better understanding of than I do."

In casual stride, Winifred prowled the radius around Peter with her eyes on him at all times. Although she had done nothing overt to achieve the effect, Peter was quivering in utter terror.

"But I don't know anything," Peter pleaded meekly. He doubted this would provoke any mercy from Winifred, but he had to try.

"You keep close company with the trio of boys who rule Hogwarts and expect me to believe that you know nothing that might interest me?" Winifred waged her finger in a chiding manner.

"Why me?" Peter squeaked out.

"Because all of your other friends have spine enough to stand up to me," Winifred justified with a grin playing across her painted lips, "and because of what you did to Nott."

A small sob came out of Peter's mouth.

"I didn't mean to rough him up so bad," Peter insisted desperately.

Winifred had to laugh.

"Oh please," Winifred smiled, showing most of her teeth, "you expect me to believe you thought no harm would come of throwing a leg-locker curse on Nott while he was halfway down the stairs?"

"I wasn't thinking!" Peter cried.

"Yes you were," Winifred argued, "you were thinking about how he injured Evans. You were thinking about how mad your friends were and how much you wanted to prove you were just as tough as the rest of them. You were thinking about how many pieces the downward momentum would break Nott's body as he toppled down those cold, stone stairs."

Winifred stopped circling Peter and stepped right up to his face, gently taking the boy's chin in her hand as she forced his eyes to meet hers.

"I know you were thinking all this, Pettigrew. Because that was the EXACT same thing I was thinking before you beat me to it"

Peter's lip trembled. Winifred release Peter from her grip to avoid having his fresh tears spill across her hand.

"I-If you were going to do that, t-then how is if fair to torment me like this?" Peter sniveled, "It's not!"

"I was born with blood on my hands, Pettigrew, what's a little more?" Winifred inquired in a dead tone.

What did it matter? She was born to cause pain to those closest to her. It was what she was good at and it was the only gift she could effectively offer. She had killed her own mother in the selfish act of being born, hadn't she?

The pestilence of her presence.

"Now, I held up MY end of things. Severus would have hunted you down and exposed you if I hadn't anticipated his actions and thrown him off track. I got all the suspicion off you so you wouldn't be punished or have to live with knowing what it's like to have the lot of your friends turning on you," Winifred attempted to steer the conversation back on its proper course.

"They wouldn't have turned on me," Peter defiantly spoke.

"Oh no?" Winifred raised her eyebrow. "If you're so confident that you're friends would understand. . . would condone your behavior, why are we even HAVING this discussion? No, you know like I do that they would shun you. Good boys like Potter challenge people to duels like the proper wizard he is. Strong boys like Black don't need to rely on dirty tricks to get back at someone. Sweet boys like Lupin don't even find much of a sense in fighting at all."

Winifred tossed her hair and a smile at Peter.

"It's only tainted boys like you that attack people from behind without any warning or much of a reason. That's a low crawl, Pettigrew," Winifred commented, "and that's coming from a Slytherin."

"What do you want to know?" Peter questioned in broken sobs.

"Florence Copia," Winifred threw out.

Judging by the now painfully rigid stance Peter was in; Winifred guess her source was panning out and she had hit on target.

"You've heard the rumors, just like me," Peter whispered, "What do you care who Sirius was snogging two years ago?"

"Oh I don't," Winifred assured, a hint of menace creeping into her voice, "I care how my cousin figures in."

Peter made a rasping noise, as though he were suddenly struggling for breath.

"Talk," Winifred's voice snapped like brittle ice under the heel of a foot.

Winifred listened intently in between the stammering and sobbing of Peter's knowledge of the event. How Florence and Severus had been seeing one another in secret, how she manipulated Sirius into a relationship to agitate both the boys for what Peter could only assume was her own amusement. How, because of Florence's game playing, the boys further despised one another intensely once they found out.

Undoubtedly fearful she would sense he was holding back, Peter even offered up the speculation that something more intimate might have transpired between her cousin and Florence, which he could neither confirm nor deny for her.

Just as he was finish up, Peter stopped and stared at Winifred.

"You're bleeding" Peter informed her.

"Pardon?" Winifred snapped out of her attentive state and checked herself over. A thin trickle of blood ran through the fingers of her clenched fist.

Her fingernails had punctured the flesh in her palm.

"So I am," Winifred agreed as she examined the wounds.

Peter extended his arm, a handkerchief attached to the end of it.

Winifred couldn't hide her surprise at the gesture.

"Thank you," Accepting the handkerchief, Winifred crudely bandaged her hand and smiled at Peter, "do you always offer fresh dressings to people who threaten you?"

"Is this where you tell me I'm weak for it?" Peter didn't bother to look at Winifred now that their business was done.

Winifred shook her head, even though he couldn't see.

"No. This is where I tell you there's something salvageable in you."

Turning around, Winifred made her way towards the door to the room.

"What are you going to do with what I told you?" Peter's tone shook. "Are you plotting to hurt Sirius?"

Winifred couldn't decide if he was concerned about his friend or concerned it would be discovered he had a hand in it.

"Yes," Winifred nodded softly as she turned around, "it's an unfortunate complication that comes with simply knowing me."

"Well, I'll have no part in it anymore," Peter insisted, "you and I are squared away so get your information elsewhere."

Winifred considered this.

"You're right," She agreed as she drew her wand. Peter's eyes went wide at the sight of it but made no motion to grab his own.

"I suppose if you don't know that we're even then I could still ask you another question, another time couldn't I?" Winifred mused. "After all, with the proper memory charm you would still walk about feeling as though you were sill indebted to me."

"That's not fair." Peter breathed.

"I think we've already established that I'm no such thing." Winifred frowned with only the slightest remorse as she felt Peter's handkerchief grip her wand along with her hand.

"Obliviate."

"Did you move all your gifts to your room as I asked?" Mrs. Black pressed Sirius as she crossed paths with him in the hall.

"Yes Mum," Sirius smiled, "and I'll make sure to Owl thank yous for everyone who brought me something."

"Good lad, what are you up to now off on your own?" Mrs. Black demanded as she eyed her son. "The big expensive party I'm throwing for you not entertaining enough?"

Sirius laughed while shaking his head.

"No, Mum, it's fab, I just finished putting my presents in my room like you asked!" Sirius insisted, "You're far too young to have your short-term memory going like this."

Mrs. Black appeared satisfied by this answer and supplied her son with a brief peck on the cheek.

"Well, then I'll keep out of your hair but call if you need something," Mrs. Black promised, "And Sirius, about your overnight party, once you all settle in I don't want to find any young men or women slipping over to one another's respective sides of the house. I don't know what you get away with at school but not under my roof, understood?"

"Mum!" Sirius forced a scandalized expression, "You cut me to the quick!"

"Oh please, do you think I'm a fool?" Mrs. Black rolled her eyes, "You expect me to believe hand-holding and sweet nothings are the extent of your transgressions – "

Sirius felt ill.

"I will never light the wick of another firecracker if you promise to not discuss 'transgressions' again," Sirius offered, one step from throwing his hands over his ears in a childish attempt to block out the innuendos of his mother's voice.

"Not really a conversation I want to have with my youngest child anyway," Mrs. Black admitted as she patted her son's head and strolled off, "I'll be off somewhere with your father. Let me know when you start up Quidditch, I want Acontiae to snap off a few photos for the album."

" 'Kay, Mum" Sirius nodded as continued on his way. He had only just turned a corner when he saw Winifred exiting a parlor on the first floor.

"Lost?" Sirius inquired curiously.

Winifred appeared slightly startled by his presence but recovered rather graciously.

"Just giving myself a tour," Winifred explained casually, "did your mother decorate?"

"My Dad, actually, Mum has no eye for that sort of thing," Sirius's eyes fell on the handkerchief covering it. "what did you do to your hand?"

"Oh," Winifred smiled, "just me being careless."

"Come on," Sirius urged, putting a hand on Winifred's shoulder to user her along, "let's put some proper dressings over that and some medical salve for good measure."

"You seem pretty competent about this sort of thing," Winifred praised as she and Sirius stepped into the powder room nearest to them.

Sirius's just smirked as he took to rummaging through the cabinets.

"When you've lived my childhood or, have a close proximity to it, you learn how to tend to a wide variety of injuries," Sirius divulged.

Winifred fell silent to this comment before she finally questioned softly.

"Were you hit often then?"

"What?" Sirius turned away from the cabinet he was inspecting to stare at Winifred.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried," Winifred apologized.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Sirius replied. "My parents never laid a hand on me. What made you think I was battered?"

Sirius's brow furrowed with concern.

"Were you?" He asked.

"No," Winifred shook her head, "I simply jumped to a conclusion I shouldn't have. I guess I'm just used to hearing the worst case scenario it's hard to give ambiguous statements the benefit of the doubt."

"No harm done," Sirius attempted a smile as he went back to bring out his medical aids. Once he had everything he had set out for, Sirius put Winifred's hand under a facet and allowed it to rinse under some lukewarm water.

"So barring the slight maiming, which should more or less be anticipated at any function I'm associated with, are you having fun?" Sirius inquired.

"I'm amusing myself," Winifred smiled.

"I haven't really seen you mingling with the rest of the people here," Sirius noted.

"I like to keep to myself," Winifred rationalized.

"You are the elusive sort." Sirius agreed as he dried off Winifred's hand and started applying some potion over the puncture wounds.

It occurred to Winifred that Sirius didn't have to help her like this and she felt odd that he was. Not so much because it was Sirius Black, but because it was anyone. She was traditionally so self-reliant that she had forgotten what it was like to depend on others.

It was also odd because it was a side to Sirius she never saw. Winifred was used to a destructive, self-centered boy with a thirst for attention that nearly rivaled her own. The difference between them was Sirius accepted any small amounts while she was only satisfied with an exclusive consideration.

Yet here was Sirius mending something while giving attention to another.

Winifred wondered if she ever preformed similar courtesy in her own life.

Giving instead of taking?

Her recent episode with Peter Pettigrew made her assume no.

"Are you afraid people won't want to talk to you because you're the only Slytherin here or just because you're Snape's relative?" Sirius pressed.

"Either is more than enough incentive," Winifred decided, "it doesn't matter really. I'm used to being on my own and I do well on my own."

"Spoken like someone who needs a friend if I ever heard one," Sirius shook his head as he started to apply some gaze, "just keep this dry for an hour or so and you'll be better than new."

"I don't NEED friends," Winifred stared hard at Sirius, "Anyone who tells themselves they NEED anyone is just setting themselves up for a big hurt somewhere along the lines."

"Arms length sort of girl, eh" Sirius shrugged, "they teach you kids that as part of your 'sink or swim' course in Slytherin?"

"That's merely the rock they tie to us before we start our 'sink or swim' curriculum," Winifred flexed her hand to give breathing room within the bandages, "besides, I'd rather be able to function at arms length as opposed to not be able to do a thing without someone holding my hand through it."

Sirius chuckled.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about House philosophies," Sirius suggested.

"Then what is there to talk about?" Winifred questioned.

"You. Me." Sirius offered before catching Winifred's look and responded to it with a smile, "Not quite what I meant."

Finished patching up Winifred, Sirius placed his hands into his pockets.

"What I was going for was you're Winifred Wilkes first and a Slytherin second. Just like I'm Sirius Black before I'm a Gryffindor," Sirius clarified.

"That's a pretty enlightened perspective for a notorious Slytherin hater," Winifred eyed Sirius as though she were examining something.

"Hey, it's a fun way to spend seven years of your life but it's not like Houses matter all that much outside Hogwarts," Sirius smirked, "in about a year, you and I are just going to be Winifred and Sirius. Its better time spent worrying about what you're walking out of Hogwarts with than what you're walking around it with."

Winifred's expression was truly amused.

"I never gave you the credit of being this wise, Sirius," Winifred admitted, causing Sirius to break down laughing.

"Well I have to keep myself occupied somehow when I run out of waterproof explosives," Sirius grinned as he nodded towards the direction of the party, "come along with me. I'll introduce you to some people and I doubt they'll care all that much what color your tie is during school hours."

"Alright," Winifred consented as she followed Sirius, "may I ask when you obtained your liberal views on intra-house relations?"

"Somewhere around you," Sirius reported, "that's not so much a come on as it is a fact. You never deliberately hurt me or mine, Winifred. Not in all our feud with Snape or all your years with Slytherin. I can't very well say Slytherin is all bad if there's some good in you."

For a moment, she thought of Florence and wondered why Sirius wasn't more like Severus as a result. Maybe it was the difference of friends or family that kept Sirius from avoiding the jaded and bitter trappings her cousin embraced. Or maybe there was no difference aside from how they channeled their frustrations with women.

Severus locked himself up from them while Sirius offered nothing of value to them.

Was it any more or less than she offered herself?

"I think there's something kindred between you and I," Winifred suspected, "we're so very much like what everyone expects us to be yet we still have the ability to surprise others now and again."

Sirius smiled and took Winifred's uninjured hand boldly. Although it was the most he had dared to touch her ever, Winifred didn't find the gesture to be particularly flirtatious but mostly reassuring and friendly.

She didn't bother to pull out of his gift.

"Well, just be on your guard around me," Sirius warned, "I have the supernatural habit of drawing calamity to me."

The pestilence of their mutual presence.

"Who doesn't?" Winifred shrugged with a knowing smirk

As the party continued on and Sirius made his usual rounds of checking up on his quests, Sirius stopped off by the refreshments and four boys occupying it.

"What are you gents up too?"

The gents Sirius were referring to was Mundungus Fletcher, a 4th Year and Gryffindor Reserve Beater was by his mate Barty Crouch Jr. who was a Ravenclaw of the same Year as well as Tristan Travers and Evan Rosier; Hufflepuffs who were 6th Years like Sirius.

"Just trying to figure out who those girls are over there," Travers reported, gesturing to Acontiae, Aurora, and Celestine who were all seated together at a table chatting.

"Bloody fetching the lot of them!" Rosier decided approvingly.

"Um . . . " Fletcher's eyes began shifting from Aurora and Celestine over to Sirius, evidently noting the resemblance of their features as well as Sirius's sudden bristling.

"I'm definitely considering walking over to the blonde and pointing out how hard-working us Hufflepuffs can be," Travers ginned to Rosier and Sirius.

"Actually, that line wouldn't impress her much," Sirius informed with a lopsided smirk, "she graduated from your House two years ago. Six years for the one with short black hair, same House mind you."

"Surprised we don't recognize either," Rosier shrugged, "how you know them, Black?"

"Well, they're my sisters," Sirius replied menacingly to the other boys, "and if I find out about any of you applying you House "work ethic" on any of them I'll pull out your tongues and use them in a potion to hex you."

Crouch laughed as the older boys weren't too certain if Sirius was joking or not.

The glint in his eyes certainly made it a subject of debate.

"All right then," Travers nodded.

"All right!" Sirius patted the pair of Hufflepuffs on the backs and headed off, "I'm probably going to play a spot of Quidditich now if you're interested."

"Right along," Rosier committed uneasily before adding, "hope you like what we got you."

Waiting for Sirius to make his way out of earshot, the older boys turned to Fletcher scowling.

"You couldn't mention that they were his sisters before we went on about them to Black?" Travers spat.

"Do I look like his biographer?" Fletcher demanded, "besides, how could you NOT notice the family resemblance? The black haired ones look just like their Mum."

"His Mum's a looker too," Rosier commented to his friend.

"I'd shag her," Travers decided with a nod.

"Well I hope you were sure to add THAT in the card for his gift," Fletcher mumbled as he tugged Crouch off by the cuff of his robe to leave the older boys to their death wish.

"Come on; let's play some Quidditch while there's still light!" Sirius voice bellowed as he urged the rest of his guests along, earning a murmur of excited approval.

Most of the people present didn't seem to express all that much desire to play themselves but were looking forward to seeing some of the best players in school having a friendly game without the usual House politics surrounding it. Following Sirius out to the edge of the party and an open field, everyone surveyed the make-shift pitch and waited to see what would happen next.

"How you going to go about organizing a line-up?" Remus nodded to the people huddled about.

"I dunno . . . James?" Sirius deferred command over to his friend who was a little more familiar with it.

"I'd say, if we have enough brooms for it, the usual seven player teams with maybe three or four reserve for when someone gets bloodied up," James shrugged before addressing the rest of the group, "so if any of you fancy playing a match you might want to keep in mind how brutal Quidditch can be. No coddling to be had once you're on the pitch."

A few people, mostly girls, quickly bowed off to the side, evidently not all that interested in getting roughed up but that still left enough to make a couple teams out of.

"Okay then!" Sirius nodded, evidently satisfied with the terms James established, "how about I be captain for one and James the other and we'll just pick people for positions as we see fit?"

No one appeared to have any objections about this as the murmured in agreement and waited eagerly for either Sirius or James to call out their names.

"You first, Mate, your party," James grinned as he nudged Sirius.

"Fine then," Sirius turned his head over towards the table his sisters were seated at, "oy! Aurora, you're my Keeper!"

Aurora looked over with a more than quizzical expression at this nomination.

"Sirius, I haven't played Quidditch in ages," Aurora reported, evidently hoping this would be the end of it.

"Come on! You were brilliant for Ravenclaw!" Sirius praised, "it's just like riding a broom!"

"It's been ages since I've done that as well," Aurora additionally noted but began making her way over to the pitch regardless.

"No way you're scoring on my Keeper, Potter," Sirius turned to James with a prematurely triumphant expression to which James rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do against your twenty-five year old sister whom hasn't set foot on a pitch in seven years," James replied as he gestured towards their peers, "Cassidy, get up here, girl!"

After making short order of filling out there team with people from various Houses and Qudditch experience, Sirius started to pass out brooms to the players who were to ascend the pitch first.

"We still need someone to keep score," James announced.

"I'll do it," Lily volunteered.

"Can we have someone who ISN'T snogging James tally points?" Sirius protested, before turning to Remus, "Are you snogging James, Remus?"

"Not at the moment," Remus smirked.

"That'll do!" Sirius decided as he gestured him over to the score board before realizing he had an extra broom and no player to hand it too.

That was when Sirius remembered they needed a referee.

"Winifred, would you join me for a moment!" Sirius called the girl out from the place she was standing off by herself. She approached him with a curious expression.

"We need a referee," Sirius informed her, "I want you to do it."

"Why? Do you suspect I'll be lenient with you?" Winifred appeared to be studying Sirius, as though to gage his sincerity in the request.

"No, I expect you to be observant and impartial," Sirius corrected, "rumor has you pegged as a Quidditch fan so you know all the rules and you have no reason to favor either side. That and it would be a good gesture to show you're ability to play nice with non-Slytherin."

"I don't play nice even with Slytherins," Winifred smiled but still took the broom and position Sirius offered.

Up in the air, James spied the scene below with cautious eyes before noticing Aurora had flown along side him.

"That girl my brother is speaking with, how well does he know her?" Aurora asked James.

"Wilkes? She's in our Year but she's a Slytherin," James replied, "past that I can't say why he would know her much more. She's Snape's cousin and that should be more than enough to put him off."

James realized he was prattling but he was attempting to process the information himself. He knew that Sirius had been speaking with Wilkes recently but they were carrying on like old chums on the green. Turning to his friend's sister, James saw that Aurora appeared both amused and warmed by this news. James also got the impression that Sirius's eldest sister might have more awareness of what was going on that James had indicated to her.

"For as similar as Sirius and I may be, it never fails to surprise me when I find something more that we have in common," Aurora commented to James before smiling and flying back to her position on the pitch.

"For as daft as you Blacks may be, it never fails to surprise me when I find one of you doing something mad," James muttered to himself before hollering to Sirius to get on his broom and play the game.

At nine o'clock, the party had all but officially wound down for the evening with guests taking their portkeys back home and leaving Sirius with fond birthday wishes, assurances of a grand time, and a horrible mess that would probably be tended to in the morning by someone Sirius hoped would be not himself.

As he had more or less anticipated, everyone in his Year from Gryffindor had decided to stay over with the exception of a Ravenclaw fellow 6th Year named Bronwyn Weaver who was a Muggle born like Lily and Gwen.

Best described as cute (though she was amongst some harsh competition with Lily and Winifred present), Bronwyn kept her shoulder length brown hair secured beneath a headband and displaying her lime green eyes which were widely peeled at the moment. The Ravenclaw girl gave the impression she felt out of place in the mix and was a challenge to coax into the conversation along with everyone else.

Although she was another odd one out, Winifred didn't appear at all put out to be the only representative of Slytherin in the room regardless of the fact only Sirius and Cassidy were the only ones who refrained from giving her a second glance.

Retiring to the billiards room for some evening tea and socializing before they splintered off to separate wings, Remus, Arabella, Cassidy, and Peter tossed about some darts while Sirius and Winifred played James and Lily in a game of pool that Winifred was sharking at the moment. For their part, Millicent, Gwen, and Bronwyn appeared content to simply watch either of the activities in progress.

"You're parents are archaic, Sirius," James informed as he took a shot for the four in their game of 8-ball, "it's insulting that your parents don't trust the lot of us to share the same quarters."

"Don't even get me started on all the things teenagers are getting away with in the Muggle world!" Gwen chimed along.

"I'm not going to listen to you complain for one moment, James," Remus called towards his friend from the dart board, "not when you're girlfriend has her own private room back at school."

Lily applied some more chalk to her cue, hoping no one would notice the intense blushing from her at the moment while James just laughed it off.

"You and 'Bella don't need your own room," Sirius decided as he took his turn on the table, "not when Hogwarts is FULL of empty classrooms."

Arabella looked tempted to chuck the darts in her hand at Sirius.

"This particular joke at our expense won't be dying down anytime soon I'm gathering," Remus sighed.

"Not until you give me something more amusing to ride you over," Sirius confirmed.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to get right on that." Remus rolled his eyes before committing himself to ignoring Sirius for a while.

"Are ye staying over with the rest of us?" Cassidy asked Winifred, effectively changing the subject.

"Considering I've already shown up uninvited I doubt I should impose anymore than I have," Winifred shook her head, "I'll be on my way after this game."

"Go ahead, Sirius imposes all the time," Cassidy snorted, "about time the bloody prat got a little something his way."

"It's no big deal if you want to," Sirius assured, "we have plenty of space but you'd be rooming with mostly girls from Gryffindor, save for Bronwyn."

"I don't have any specific problem with that," Winifred clarified.

From the dart board, Arabella gave Remus a meaningful look that she had very little intention of Winifred seeing but refrained from making any comments.

"Mostly I just know Severus and his family wouldn't approve in the least," Winifred went on.

"Well I'm not going to force you but I'm just letting you know that the offer is open if you want to take it," Sirius leaned on his pool cue, "we're not doing anything particularly impressive tomorrow, mostly lazing about much like this so it's not like you're missing anything if you turn me down."

"It's not as though I have any better plans for tomorrow," Winifred admitted, "from what it sounded like, Severus and his parents had every intention of tending to their own matters tomorrow with plans that excluded me."

"So you'll stay over then?" Sirius pressed.

"Why not?" Winifred shrugged.

"Alright then," Sirius gestured for Winifred to take her shot now that Lily was finished with her turn.

"I hate to be catty but really, what is Wilkes doing here?" Arabella demanded of Lily in a low voice as the shared a vanity in Aurora's bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces. They were the last of the girls to get themselves ready for bed and everyone else was already settled into the room they had been prescribed to sleep in, leaving Lily, Arabella, and their conversation to themselves.

"What do you mean?" Lily rinsed her face over the sink as she listened.

"Why in bloody hell is she staying over?" Arabella clarified, "Do you really think the extent of Wilkes's plotting is sitting around, braiding each other's hair, and giggling about boys?"

"What has she done to you personally?" Lily questioned as she reached for a towel.

"How about dropping one of my friends flat on her face in Potions?" Arabella crossed her arms in a pout, acting as though she were disappointed in Lily's memory.

"She didn't drop me, Nott did," Lily reminded.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right," Arabella sarcastically commented, "so tell me how you got on the dungeon ceiling again: flew up there on your own?"

Lily really didn't have much of a reply to this.

"Well, it's more my place to be upset about that than you," Lily finally stated.

Arabella didn't appear all that fond of this answer.

"I can't be insulted on my friend's behalf anymore?" Arabella fumed, "Lily, even if I ignored that, there's more to Wilkes than a cool grin and sense of fashion. She's a Slytherin and Snape's cousin and I can't see any good amounting of us getting all chummy with her. I'm telling you, that worm will turn at the first chance she gets."

"You're just being petty," Lily informed, disapproving of Arabella's behavior, "her House or family has nothing to do with Wilkes as a person. It's not fair to lump her in with Slytherin and Severus Snape just because she has a connection to them and you don't like either. We'll be full-fledge witches in a little over a year and schoolyard grudges are no means to make a proper way through life, Arabella."

"Why are you scolding me like a child out of control?" Arabella pouted her blue eyes wide, evidently upset. She glared at Lily with a harshness the redhead had never received from her before.

"I'm just keeping an eye on a girl we have no reason to trust and every reason to suspect. Everything I know about Wilkes is sneaky, manipulative, and cold; the type of girl who'd stab you before she flashed a smile. I don't like Wilkes NOT because she was SORTED into Slytherin or HAPPENS to share a few drops of blood with Snape, but because she IS a Slytherin and IS JUST LIKE Snape. In spite of all that, I haven't been rude to her in the least so far because you're friends with her awful cousin and Sirius invited her to stay. And I express an opinion to you in confidence and you paint me as some sort of bigot. How dare you, Lily Evans! You don't know everything about everything so don't talk down to me just because you assume you do!"

Arabella began gathering her things up in a huff.

"I'm bloody tired of everyone treating me like my opinion is worthless! None of you saw fit to tell me I was dating a werewolf because Remus's feelings were evidently the only important ones worth considering. Before that you and James were sneaking around with one another and I was, YET AGAIN, the LAST one to know while I sat there pouring my heart out over and over about how much I cared for him. And those are just the biggest drops in a whole damn bucket with you, James, Sirius, and the rest!"

Opening the bathroom door, Arabella was like a cauldron boiling over as she turned to face Lily once more before leaving.

"You all just don't understand what it's like for me. I'm not brilliant or gorgeous or some sort of unique wonderful that makes me a compelling person. I'm normal, Lily, I'm just average and the rest of you make me feel like that's just not good enough for all of you sometimes."

Arabella shook her head in disgust and slammed the door behind her as she left. Lily felt her jaw drop slack at Arabella's speech. Arabella was a passionate person and giving off a piece of her mind was nothing out of the ordinary for the blonde, but Lily had never been the one lashed by her tongue before.

What was more troubling was Arabella had a lot of very good points that Lily had no reasonable excuse for.

Lily had been inconsiderate of Arabella's feelings.

They had all been inconsiderate of their friend's feelings.

Like all the Black children, Sirius's bedroom was technically several rooms all interconnected with his own bath. It was the best way they could manage all the space in their home while horribly spoiling their children. Congregating in Sirius sitting room, James, Remus, and Peter always had a blast hanging about at Sirius's place since he kept plenty of toys and games about to keep themselves entertained.

In a way, Sirius was the only one of the Marauders who had a traditional (if not drawn out) childhood. After the death of his entire immediate and extended family, James had lost interest in acquiring playthings for himself for the most part. Remus had never really entertained many other people his age so he mostly owned books or things amuse himself. And Peter's mum had always kept him on a tight reign to really have many interesting things about his place.

So time at the Blacks was arguably well spent.

Idly fooling about with a football (Soccer if you're American), Sirius was burning off the remaining sugar in his system as he kept up with his friend's conversation as they lounged about the room and preoccupied themselves with their own toys.

"As much fun as it is spending the night with you gents, because it so RARELY HAPPENS, I wish your parents weren't so close-minded on the prospects of a co-ed sleepover." James joked.

"Yeah, I would have thought your parents would be more liberal." Peter added on.

"It's probably more for the benefit of other parents." Remus wagered.

"Or their own twist satisfaction in being utter hypocrites. I should be in therapy for all the snogging I walked in on!" Sirius worked on bouncing the ball from knee to knee without smacking himself in the face or knocking over something less fragile than his skull. "Anyway, my parents are really good about mucking up any romantic interludes in this house for their kids. My Mum has this sixth sense centered around knowing when one of us is snogging about on the property then she goes into her seek-and-destroy-the-mood mode. . . it's bloody eerie."

"So it wouldn't do me and Moony any good if we could shack up with our respective others anyway." James concluded.

"Mum would be in here with a lecture and bucket of cold water faster than you could say 'we were just talking, really'." Sirius nodded with a knowing scowl.

"Speaking of a bucket of cold water, did I miss when you and Wilkes got joined at the hip?" Remus inquired.

"What?" Sirius shrugged as he kept his footing up. Peter, James, and Remus exchanged glances amongst themselves.

"Look, if you're interested in her, just tell us, Mate," James encouraged.

"Not like you chasing Slytherin is anything new," Peter nodded, "you must get some sort of high running that thin line between love and hate."

"Knock it off, the three of you," Sirius insisted as he caught his ball while rolling his eyes, "I'm just looking to make friends with Wilkes."

"Oh bloody hell," Remus groaned, "do I have to remind you about how kittens die whenever you lie so wickedly like that to our faces?"

"No dead kittens, Moony," Sirius assured, "I'm sincere on this, I'm not looking to snog Wilkes."

"But understand our skepticism in all this, Padfoot," James reasoned, "you don't have any women friends to your credit."

"Precisely," Sirius agreed, "I'm seventeen and I've never talked to a girl I wasn't trying to snog or hadn't snogged already. I just want a girl who I can find entertaining and worth spending time with without something that involves fancy words and empty classrooms."

"What about Lily or Arabella?" Peter pointed out, "Or any of the girls in Gryffindor?"

"Millicent's too nice to warp with my twisted slant on things, I get the impression Gwen might be interested and I'd hate to lead her along, and as fun as Cassidy can be to talk to she has this point where you get the feeling she's holding out," Sirius answered quickly enough to show he put some thought into this, "and Lily and Arabella fall into the attempted snog and snogged categories."

James and Remus both went rigid at they turned their attentions even more so on Sirius.

"Wait, you kissed Lily?" James spat out, feeling pangs of territoriality begin to tear at his surface.

"No, Arabella," Sirius corrected before catching Remus's panicked look, "but LONG before you were seeing her, Mate."

"How long?" Remus demanded

"I never mentioned this to any of you?" Sirius questioned dumbly, "well it was long enough that it doesn't matter much anymore."

"You don't get to tell me that you snogged the love of my life and that it shouldn't matter in the same breathe," Remus informed with a cross look, "start talking."

"Arabella's the love of your life?" Peter gaped at Remus, "You're that serious about her?"

Remus looked a little caught off guard by Peter's questions as he turned away from Sirius to stare at him.

"Well, I – " Remus stammered.

"He must be if he's willing to get all flustered over something that requires a journey back to 3rd Year to have any relevance!" Sirius smirked.

"Moony, Wormtail, shut up, you're letting Sirius pull you off topic," James observed, "he's trying to duck out on why he's playing about with Wilkes."

Remus reluctantly went silent as he, Peter, and James returned their attention onto their mutual friend expectantly. Sirius threw his hands out, dropping the ball they held

"I'm being serious here!" Sirius laughed.

"Yeah, and we're all aware of what being SIRIUS entails traditionally," Peter noted, "why do you have to be friends with Wilkes? Why not some other girl who isn't Snape's cousin?"

Sirius sighed as it seemed he was aware that some explaining was in order but evidently didn't relish having to get into it.

"The thing is . . . I just have SUCH A PROBLEM with women in general." Sirius sighed in evident frustration. It appeared to James and the others that Sirius was looking for the proper words to describe what he was feeling and tragically coming up short.

"What do you mean by a problem?" Peter repeated in a scoffing voice.

In the back of his mind, James was half convinced he was about to hear another coming out speech like he had with Cassidy Kinkade a year back.

"Just how I act around them. It never about just getting to know them and it's not just about getting up their skirts. It's just nothing. It's like I'm passing time for the fun of it and anything past that is just too much effort for me to even find rewarding. The only women I can be decent around are blood relations and that's probably just because I've been around them my whole lives and have no desire to do anything randy with them." Sirius confessed.

James considered Sirius's self-awareness of being something of a womanizer and tried to figure some way to help him with it. That seemed to be what his friend was reaching out for, some kind of answer or solution to get him off this lonely path.

"Does this have anything to do with Florence?" Remus questioned. "Maybe I'm off the mark but I just think maybe she sort of scared you off on the topic of proper dating. Not that I blame you. Florence Copia has probably made you suspicious that anytime you try from to get to know a girl she's going to turn ugly on you."

"Maybe." Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. It's kind of hard to say. Maybe it's just me."

"I think if this was just who you were, Padfoot, you wouldn't be agonizing about it so much," James smiled sympathetically, "can we ask what provoked this revelation?"

"Just something that's been building the past few weeks . . . no, past year," Sirius guessed, "probably started somewhere around Lily. Not to say I'm harboring any feelings for your girl, James. In fact, I don't know if I EVER really felt for her how I should have . . . let alone how she deserved. I just realized I wasn't in a place where I could fall in love with ANYONE if I couldn't fall in love with someone bloody fab like Lily."

Sirius's friends offered no reply to this, evidently recognizing that he needed this to be more of a monologue than a dialogue if they were going to get anywhere close to helping Sirius sort out his feelings.

"Then when I was talking with Winifred Wilkes last week, I realized it was just fun going back and forth with her," Sirius went on, "probably more fun than just going at it with her."

"So you weren't flirting with her before or at the party today?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Oh I was flirting with her. I always flirt with women, charming is all I know," Sirius admitted before he started shaking his head and pulling at his hair in an agitated manner, "That's another thing! I never realized how insincere I must be. To go on and on to all these girls about qualities I adore in them. I'm just SAYING THINGS and probably just so these girls will like me."

"So what made Wilkes different?" Remus tried to keep the conversation on track.

"It's not that she's different, it's just she's enough like me to not let me pull the wool over her eyes with pretty words," Sirius explained, "she just threw out all these barbed words to keep me on my toes and called me on everything I was feeding her. Winifred pointed out again and again how casual I am with girls and it just got me thinking. Then there was a couple conversations I had with Aurora."

Sirius took a deep breath before pressing on.

"Basically we had to admit that we were getting a little too old to be thinking the world revolves around each other and maybe we needed other people to relate to besides blood. She's right too, Aurora is. It's not like we can sit back and say that the most we need is a loving sibling. I mean, for all I know because she's so invested in me that's why she ends up with prats like Malfoy. She just doesn't have the energy or care to find someone worthwhile."

"I don't think one has much to do with the other, Padfoot. Guys like Malfoy are tricky to figure since they're good at getting what they want and you've been down-talking him from day one so no one can accuse you of driving her into his arms," James rationalized.

"You're probably right on that, Prongs," Sirius relented with a sigh, "I don't know exactly what I'm going for with Winifred but it's not what all of you are suspecting. I'm seventeen years old and I've never had a girl that I just called a Mate."

"So you think Snape's cousin is a better emotional outlet than any of the other girls in the whole school?" Peter was noticeably skeptical, "Not to tell you what to do, Sirius, but what's stopping Wilkes from talking any kind of relationship you develop with her and handing it over to Snape to play with?"

"How about I don't think she'd do that?" Sirius tried, "I don't pretend Wilkes is a saint but she's had almost six years to try and shag me over if she was so inclined. I'm thinking if she hasn't done it by now then she probably won't have a whole lot of motivation to do it now."

"What about New Years?" James countered softly.

Sirius stiffened a bit at the mention. James didn't want to squash his friend's ambitions but he didn't want to seem him hurt infinitely more.

"Do you think she found out about that?" Sirius wondered.

"Who knows what Snape tells her?" James couldn't answer for certain, "He doesn't even need to bring up Remus, all he needs to do is mention how you 'tried to feed him to a werewolf' and Wilkes sets some sort of intricate revenge plot into motion."

Sirius thought about this deeply.

"I'd like to think she's not capable of something that cold-blooded and involved," Sirius admitted.

"I'd like to give her that credit too," Remus nodded sympathetically as he really had no troubles with Wilkes in the past, "but I really don't know much about Wilkes aside from where her allegiances lie regarding House and family. And that's about all you know too, Sirius."

"Yeah," Sirius sighed again, "still, I think I'm going to at least attempt to get along with her. She's about the only girl I can think of that's highly amusing to talk with and won't tempt me to queer our relationship by trying to snog her. I mean, Winifred went on and on herself about how us getting along would be pretty difficult if not impossible."

"I gotta ask, Sirius, why are you trying so hard?" James mused, "what are you expecting to get from all this?"

"Well, I was never one to back down from a challenge and I can't think of a harder pressed one that befriending Winifred Wilkes," Sirius flashed James his usual overconfident grin, "and as for what I'm expecting, I just want to prove that I can have something like I do with Aurora with another girl. Even if I develop the slightest rapport with Winifred that's better than I've had going on before. And something tells me the girl could probably use a friend."

"Can't argue there," James recalled the typically standoffish behavior of Wilkes and guessed she was far too used to guarding her personality, "she seemed to open up a bit at the party without Snape and her House hissing from behind her."

"Yeah, and that's the Win I want to know," Sirius decided.

"'Win'?" Remus questioned with an amused look.

"What, you think I should pet name her 'Fred'?" Sirius chuckled.

"I think you should put on those Muggle records Cassidy, Gwen, and Millie gave you so we'll have an excuse to tune you out," James laughed.

Aurora Black apparently had a fondness for blue as the color of her walls and the cushions and blankets on the furniture reflected this taste. Spacious and beautiful, most of the personal affects of Sirius's older sister were absent from the room aside from a few photographs and childhood memorabilia. The sparse decoration was due to Aurora's living independently in London more so than at her family home.

Still, the room was lovely and inviting.

Plotting out their sleeping arrangements for the evening, Lily and Millicent, under the cover of a blanket, occupied either end of a plush and comfy sitting couch in the corner of the room that faced out. In the large bed, Winifred, Cassidy, and Bronwyn all occupied it contentedly with Arabella and Gwen content to share a cluster of large throw pillows across the ground.

"Nice of Sirius to loan you a shirt to sleep in," Gwen commented with a slight note of jealousy teetering in her tone as she smoothed out her long brown hair with a brush.

Winifred smiled at the small girl, not looking at all bothered.

"Interested in Black, are you McGinnis?" Winifred inquired.

"Why should I tell you anything of the sort?" Gwen huffed, "So you can run back to your Slytherin friends and have a good laugh about anything you hear tonight?"

Cassidy pitched a pillow at Gwen's head to silence her.

"Shut it, ye little howler monkey!" Cassidy ordered, "Wilkes saved yer hide not even a month back. Keep that in mind when yer accusing her of being something foul. Now give me back my pillow before I come over their and thrash ye nice and proper with it!"

"It's alright, McGinnis has a point," Winifred assured as she ducked the pillow Gwen threw back, "I'm not entirely sure of why you'd be inclined to speak so candidly in front of me either."

"Any particular reason we shouldn't?" Lily questioned, deliberately not looking at Arabella as she spoke this.

"I can think of several but what's surprising is either you haven't or don't care regardless," Winifred replied.

"Like I said, Millie and Gwen owe ye the benefit of the doubt fer what ye did fer them in Hogsmeade," Cassidy shrugged as Millicent nodded along, "that and an impressive knowledge of Quidditch makes ye alright with me."

"I don't have any more reason to trust you than not to, but you've never really done anything to me one way or another," Bronwyn admitted.

Arabella refrained from commenting but her eyes drifted over to Lily as though to check her reaction.

"I'm not bothered personally because I consider myself friendly with Severus and he seems to have a fairly high opinion of you," Lily rationalized.

"That's something I've always wondered about;" Winifred seized her opportunity, "did anything ever happen between you and my cousin?"

Judging by the way every eye in the room focused on Lily in that moment, Winifred guessed she wasn't the only one who had been left to wonder about that.

"Nothing past a possibly friendship," Lily stated frankly, "we did was attend the Yule Ball in one another's company but that was the extent of it all."

"I see," Winifred settled herself back into her pillow.

"Why? Do you suspect Snape liked her?" Gwen pressed.

"Possibly, Severus is very low-key about his emotions so it's difficult to ever say on matters of the heart with him," Winifred returned noncommittally to Gwen before turning to address Lily, "but don't trouble yourself with it, Evans, I suspect his attentions have moved elsewhere if they were ever intent on you."

Lily, Millicent, and Bronwyn appeared a little unsure of how to process this specific information out of what Winifred assumed was sheer manners while the other girls didn't bother to blink at Snape's possible love interests if they were, in fact, intrigued by this.

"You might as well call us by our first names if we're trying to be all chummy about this," Arabella decided pointedly.

"Very well, Arabella," Winifred accommodated.

"Does that bother you?" Bronwyn spoke up, "that your cousin might be interested in someone?"

"Why would it?" Winifred prompted as she turned her head.

Bronwyn blushed a bit at this.

"Oh, well, I just heard talk . . ." Bronwyn trailed off, evidently not comfortable with pursuing her previous question.

Winifred's eyes narrowed.

"I hear rumors about you as well, Bronwyn," Winifred replied as though it were a threat.

Cassidy placed a hand on either the girls' shoulders as though to keep them apart.

"I'll make ye both sleep on the floor if ye don't play nice," Cassidy threw out a threat of her own.

"So what about you, peacemaker? Who you got your eye on?" Gwen challenged from the floor, earning a glare from Cassidy.

"What did I JUST warn little howler monkeys about?" Cassidy demanded.

"I'll tell you who I like if you tell me who you like," Gwen negotiated.

"That's no deal! Ye like Sirius!" Cassidy laughed.

"BUT THEY DIDN'T ALL KNOW THAT!" Gwen started fuming and wiping pillows in an effort to hit Cassidy with at least a couple of them. Tragically, Winifred and Bronwyn suffered most of the hits as they attempted to duck under their blackest for cover.

"We knew, Gwen," Arabella assured while rolling her eyes.

"I thought you were with Sirius, Cassidy," Bronwyn mumbled from somewhere under the blankets.

"Not my type," Cassidy left it at simply enough.

"Okay, no more pillow tossing, we're guests" Lily put her Prefect foot down and all the girls calmed themselves at this and started up a new wave of light and casual chatter about boys, professors, and other things going on in the world that held any interest to a pack of girls between sixteen and seventeen.

As she nestled into her plush pillow at one of Cassidy's sides, Winifred was conflicted on whether she should be charmed by all this or find it appallingly cliché. In all her years at Slytherin, she had never heard of girls sitting in their room just socializing and talking so freely about their lives.

It would be suicide.

Still, it was actually enjoyable for Winifred with this particular company and, for the first time in the longest she could recall, Winifred didn't find her presence to be a particularly poisoning one at the moment.


	31. Milestones at Three or Four Months Respe...

Milestones at Three or Four Months Respectively

By: Oy! Angelina

Platform 9 and ¾ was inhabited by many sullen young witches and wizards as the Hogwarts Express prepared to depart for the school. As their spring holiday had officially come to a conclusion with only the end of the year exams to look foreword to from there on out. With all their luggage and familiars secured on the train, students attempted to find their own places to spend the long ride back to Hogwarts. As expected, the Gryffindor 6th Year girls claimed a compartment separate from the boys, including Arabella while Lily headed off to join the other Prefects with the promise of visiting James and the other boys a little later on.

Attempting to invent means to amuse themselves for the long hours that would pass, the Marauders had settled on conversations and munching on sweets for the time being. When the topic fell onto Sirius's party, a slightly sour look spread across the boy in question's lips.

"So I guess you've given up hope on your parents surprising you with a motorbike this year, hm?" Remus studied his friend's pout.

Sirius turned his scowl on Remus and crossed his arms.

"Dad said it was stupid for me to want one since we'd be learning how to Apperate our 7th Year," Sirius fumed, "he insisted I would have no use for a muggle device and they would just be spoiling me otherwise."

"I can't help but see the logic in some of that," Peter shrugged, "I mean, what would you do with it anyway?"

"Ride it, you dolt," Sirius glared.

"I think Peter was just making the point that you're a creature of fascination and impulse, Sirius," James rationalized, "you set your sights on something unattainable and once you get it, you're already bored with it. Your parents probably just don't want to put down a pretty galleon only to have you lose interest once you can spirit yourself about Europe or hurt yourself being reckless . . . which you have a habit of being."

"I'm fully capable of committing myself to things," Sirius defensively claimed, "I'm not nearly as daft and flighty as you all would suspect."

"Speaking of daft and flighty, why isn't Arabella sitting with us?" James turned to Remus expectantly.

Remus could only frown and settle back into his seat with a sigh.

"She's with the other girls in our Year chatting it up but barely said three words to me after the party," Remus quietly informed, "she's been spending a lot of time with the girls lately. I don't know, maybe it's all innocent and she's just looking to catch up but I get the impression she's avoiding me."

"Nah, she's probably just avoiding Sirius," Peter joked, which resulted in a sharp kick from Sirius. Remus turned his focus on Sirius.

"Did you do anything to her?" Remus questioned in a more inquisitive than confrontational manner.

"Shame on you for listening to Peter," Sirius chided, "no, barely talked with her lately. She's been keeping her distance and I think it's because she doesn't fancy Winifred."

"Well she's not alone in that," Peter rubbed his now tender shin, "pick of girls at Hogwarts and you have to go for the most wicked of them all."

"We're just mates," Sirius nonchalantly stated.

With a reluctant sort of expression, James turned to Remus.

"I might have some insight into what's getting at Arabella," James confessed, perking everyone in the compartment's attention, "Lily said they exchanged a fury of words the night of the party but neglected to go into detail why."

"Arabella's mad at Lily? I can't imagine anyone being mad at Lily," Peter marveled.

"Seems like," James shrugged meekly, "I think Lily wants to fix things herself but Arabella's not giving her much of an opportunity to."

"That doesn't sound like Arabella," Remus's brow furrowed, "I wonder what got into them."

Rising to his feet, Remus abandoned the compartment with a purposeful look and left James, Sirius, and Peter to their own devices in favor of Arabella. Checking compartments and listening for familiar voices, Remus eventually heard Gwen's high-pitched laughter and slid open the door that contained it. Within was a tightly packed grouping of Cassidy, Gwen, Millicent, and Arabella with Bronwyn Weaver and Winifred Wilkes additionally present.

Sure enough, it appeared that Arabella had claimed the opposite most corner from Winifred, listening to the other girls' conversations without displaying any noticeable intention to jump in.

"So who's your favorite player in the league at the moment, Cassidy?" Bronwyn prompted the Gryffindor.

"Catriona McCormack, the Captain and Chaser fer the Pride of Portree," Cassidy replied without even thinking about it but thoughtfully added, "Lass has got such flair on the pitch I'm willing teh even forgive her fer being Scottish."

Gwen's face went so red that Remus thought her glasses would threaten to fog up.

"BRONWYN AND I ARE SCOTS, YOU LEPRECHAUN SHAGGIN COW!" Gwen hollered at her mocha skinned friend indignantly, "AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF ALL THE YEARS OF YOUR ABRASIVE FRIENDSHIP AS I HAVE TO PROBABLY FORGIVE YOU SO EASILY!"

Bronwyn just shrugged indifferently while virtually everyone else in the compartment stifled laughter. They knew Cassidy was just attempting to get a satisfying rise out of Gwen and her easily ignited temper as well as they knew it was all meant in good fun. Gwen was the only one Cassidy teased like this but everyone, including Gwen, knew it was meant as a fond gesture.

"How very big of you, Cassidy," Winifred smirked causing Cassidy to smile back while rolling her eyes.

"Afternoon ladies," Remus smiled.

"If yer planning on riding with us, Remus, ye'll have teh sit on someone's lap," Cassidy smirked as a comment on the room's present occupancy.

"Actually, I intended on stealing one of you away," Remus turned deliberately to Arabella, "got a spare moment?"

"I don't see why not," Arabella relinquished her seat and followed Remus out. Leading her to the back of the car, Remus turned to her a smiled.

"Nice of you girls to invite Winifred and Bronwyn to ride with you," Remus said approvingly.

"Actually neither was my idea," Arabella corrected, "Cassidy invited Winifred because she wants someone to talk Quidditch with or something and Bronwyn sort of invited herself. I'm beginning to suspect she may have a crush on someone in Gryffindor for as cozy as she's trying to get."

"Aren't we little Miss ulterior motive today," Remus chuckled as he stopped with Arabella past the bulk of compartments.

Arabella's blue eyes glared at her boyfriend.

"My opinion doesn't matter to you?" Arabella demanded.

Remus withdrew slightly.

"It means worlds to me," Remus frowned, "that's why I came looking for you. I want to know what's wrong."

"Nothing," Arabella replied dismissively.

"Bullocks, what's wrong?" Remus repeated.

"It's not your concern," Arabella insisted.

"It is if you're upset about something," Remus spoke adamantly, "James mentioned you might have had a fight with Lily and you've been really elusive around me as of late. I just want to know what's going on."

"I'm just sick of being the fifth wheel is all," Arabella wouldn't meet Remus's gaze, "no one bothers with ever telling me anything, I'm always left to sort things out on my own, and when I voice an opinion I'm dismissed rather than answered."

"Who's been making you feel that way?" Remus pressed, sharing Arabella's sensitivity on the subject.

"Everyone, particularly you," Arabella spoke softly.

Remus was stunned.

"Me?"

"Yes," Arabella nodded while staring at the tops of her shoes, "you're nice enough to me Remus but you never tell me a bloody thing. You just leave me to figure it all out on my own and that's not fair. Not when James is telling Lily every dark detail. Bloody hell, I'm willing to bet Wilkes knows more about your lives than I do."

"That's not true," Remus couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice. Placing both his hands on Arabella's shoulders, Remus attempted for force his girlfriend to provide him with some eye contact, "Arabella, I know I haven't always been straight forward with you in the past but it wasn't because I didn't think you weren't worth telling. I cared about you and I wanted you to care about me and I just thought some things about me would drive you off. I thought I was protecting you and I'm sorry if that made you think you weren't valuable to me. But it's not fair to be cross with Lily and the others since they were merely covering on my behalf."

Arabella balled her fists up at her sides with an indignant look.

"I'm not mad at them for protecting you," Arabella narrowed her eyes, "James and Lily played me for a fool with their whole behind the scenes romance and no one could bother to tell me a thing!"

Remus shifted uncomfortably as felt his throat grow a light tight with apprehension.

"Do . . .do you still have feelings for James?" questioned Remus reluctantly.

Arabella's eyes shot wide open in reaction to this.

"No!" she insisted adamantly before softly continuing, "no, it's not about that. I'm merely saying that it would have been nice that I had heard it from them rather than finding out through some stupid snapshot. It just seems like there are a lot of things people should tell me but they never plan to admit to it unless I finally confront them on it. It's not fair that I have to force people to be honest."

Remus was finally beginning to appreciate his girlfriend's position in the dynamic of their circle of friends

"You're right, it's not," agreed Remus shamefully, "I should have been a lot more upfront with you. I should have probably even told you that James was attracted to Lily back then even if he didn't want me to. I probably would have if I wasn't afraid that there was some selfish motivation to all of it. I had feelings for you and I guess I was worried it would come off as me stabbing my friend in the back for a girl. I'm sorry; I should have been less concerned with James's secrecy and my image and been honest with you."

Arabella studied Remus and sighed before smiling slightly.

"Well, it's probably a good thing you didn't. Who knows if we would have gotten together if you had gone about things differently and I'm very happy to be with you," Arabella confessed causing Remus to smile, "but sometimes I feel a little bit sorry that it took me five and a half years to notice how something so wonderful was right under my nose."

"Well, I can't really relate," Remus grinned, "I always thought you were grand."

Arabella gave Remus a sharp, playful shove.

"I hate it when you say things like that," Arabella complained, "you make me feel horrible for not being on the same page. Particularly considering how much more brilliant you are than James ever could be in my eyes."

"Don't ever think I heard a girl say I was more interesting than James Potter," Remus confessed awkwardly, "I imagine Lily would have an argument to raise as well."

Arabella's mood suddenly shifted sour again at the mention of Lily's name.

"Yes well Lily Evans can blow it out her wand," Arabella decided shortly.

Remus's brow furrowed as she studied the shorter blonde.

"What's going on between you two lately?" asked Remus.

"She's insufferable is what's going on!" Arabella declared, "She acts like she's so clever about ever ruddy thing under the sun but she's probably the most clueless person ever half the time! She surrounds herself with all these people she thinks are harmless but their nothing more than snakes who shed their skin just enough to coil and bite. But of course when I mention such concerns, I'm the one who's out of line or being a snob. That's bloody rich saying that I've a snob when we're talking about Slytherins!"

"So you're worried about her?" Remus paraphrased with an understanding smile.

"Not that she deserves it," Arabella huffed.

Pulling Arabella into a firm hug, Remus felt just how tense his love seemed in his embrace and attempted to pull words together that would help sooth her.

"Well, I can't really help matters between you and her aside from urge you to weigh the value of a good friend against any slights they may have caused you," Remus spoke in his usual soft voice, "but the most I can assure you, Arabella is that I'm past the point of keeping things from you or trying to push you out of my life. This is it. We're together and I plan on not letting anything come between us, especially on my end of things."

"Fair enough I suppose," murmured Arabella into his chest.

Remus would have leaned in to kiss Arabella if he hadn't felt a presence standing somewhere behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught sight of Hufflepuffs in their Year by the names of Travers and Rosier doing their best impressions of common voyeurs.

"Don't let us stop you, Lupin," Rosier smirked, who was taller than his friend Rosier with blonde hair a shade or two off from Arabella's.

"I think it will though, if it's all the same," Remus replied as he was in no mood to use Arabella to impress either of the boys.

"Fine by us," Travers leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. His hair was auburn like Lily's and had eyes with a hard quality to them, "Tristan and I were just discussing how we think Figg's the best thing to happen to your reputation."

"Oh really?" Arabella raised an eyebrow. The tone in her voice raised a bit as though she was expecting to be insulted.

"You shouldn't encourage them, Arabella," Remus eyed the two boys with disinterest, "I imagine they haven't much good to say."

Remus hadn't much interaction with either of the Hufflepuffs but he knew they had a bad reputation. The possessed all the competitiveness of their House with none of the good sportsmanship akin to it.

Travers and Rosier shared a grin that was accustomed more to Slytherin.

"Oh it's a real compliment, Lupin, honest," Travers went on, "we were just saying that Figg did wonders in clearing up those pesky rumors about what everyone suspected your preferences in dating were."

"Always thought it wasn't fair for people to assume just because a bloke's weakly and effeminate that it implied something about him," Rosier added in mock support.

"Well, good to know that Remus's name is cleared," Arabella glared hotly, "of course considering you two are joined at the hip constantly and banter like an old married couple perhaps you should find some girls to pry you apart. Unless you want people to start spreading rumors that are completely rude topics of conversation."

Travers and Rosier both stared at Arabella with dark expressions.

"Right pity we all can't have fast girls to make time with in classrooms, eh Lupin?" Travers spoke to Remus but looked at Arabella.

Remus bristled.

"I think you should apologize for making gravely incorrect assumptions about my girlfriend," Remus strongly recommended.

"Oh yeah, Lupin? How off the mark are we?" Travers demanded, "maybe a tart like Figg was just looking for a challenge."

Remus moved to say something in reply but Arabella placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Remus," Arabella said gently, "we've got nothing to prove to either of them except that we're better people by simply walking off."

"Oh now where's that famed Gryffindor courage?" taunted Rosier.

"Far more evident than either of your Hufflepuff decency," Remus replied as he took Arabella's hand and pulled her after him, glaring at each of the boys as they passed to return to one of their compartments.

"Wow, I think Lupin's disappointment in us is the worst punishment he could have inflicted," Travers shook his head in feigned sorrow.

"I know I'LL be sleeping fitfully tonight," Rosier laughed.

Attempting to ignore the cackling of the two boys, Arabella turned to Remus with a foul expression that belonged to Travers and Rosier as they headed back to the compartment James and the others were residing in.

"I can't believe they just started on you like that!" Arabella hissed, "I guess you don't need to be in Slytherin House to be a fully certified couple of wankers now do you? Do they tease you like that often?"

"No actually, this was a first," contradicted Remus with a frown, "but I'm usually in the company of James or Sirius and they would never say anything like that in front of either of them."

"Why?" Arabella questioned.

"Well, Sirius and James are far more popular than myself and from deeper blooded wizarding families. Travers and Rosier are the types who seek out approval from whom they think are holding all the cards," rationalized Remus.

"Well then they're just morons if they don't think this sort of behavior wouldn't make it back to either of them," Arabella snorted, "I mean you three are good friends and James or Sirius would have nothing to do with them after they hear about this!"

Remus's frown deepened as he considered Arabella's words.

"That's true," Remus said thoughtfully, "which makes me wonder whose ticket those two are ridding now if they're willing to make enemies of us."

Two Days Earlier:

Aurora's Perspective

Even though I am twenty-five years old fully accredited witch who also happens to be a Junior Department Head with the British Ministry of Magic that can Apparate at will I still manage to be late for every appointment I attempt to keep. Never intentionally, mind you, it just sort of works out that way.

I swear so much slips my mind I wonder if I'll lose it altogether one of these days.

Lunch hour at Diagon Alley is always a spectacle as most wizarding folk stop of here to run errands or grab a quick bite. I'm here for the latter and my lunch date is doing his best not to show how irritated he is for me missing our arranged meeting time by about ten minutes. If he knew the stretches of time I'd make Lucius Malfoy wait for I think Severus would feel most fortunate for my fashionably late entrance.

Of course, I'd make Lucius wait for hours for entirely different reasons which are amusing but not appropriate for adults to admit to.

I watch Severus check his pocket watch from the lamppost outside the Apothecary, apparently curious as to just how late I am. Rigid as the streetlight he's propped against and darkly clad, I wonder if I tugged on a loose thread would it send him off spinning like a child's top. Of course, that's assuming Severus would permit himself to overlook an unraveled seam on his clothing. Smiling over the comical thought of spinning Severus down the block, I approach the young man and hope my grin doesn't resemble Sirius's too much.

"Apologize for keeping you waiting, Severus. Terribly rude of me since it's your time I'm wasting as well," I don't bother with explanations or excuses as I have none and I respect Severus enough not to lie to him for things as petty as saving face.

"That's alright, I trust you were preoccupied and lunch hours aren't exactly engraved in stone over at the Ministry," he replies quickly, as though someone would charge him for using an extra breath.

I've decided its nervous habit of speech for Severus to move through his sentences at a faster pace if he's feeling uncomfortable. When he's either confident of his position or what he's speaking of, Severus has the tendency to drawl as most aristocrats prefer.

"Well, I know nothing works up an appetite more for me than tardiness and guilt," I've long since accepted my nervous habit of speech is self-deprecating jokes, "so how about Chinese food on means of rewarding you for being a good sport?"

The suggestiveness of the end of my sentence occurs to me as soon as the words are hanging in the air. Once again, Severus demonstrates his maturity by not reacting at all to the bait my words would provide lesser men older than he. I assume it's either out of proper rearing or he's simply too high-brow to even register such possibly immature jokes.

Of course then what does it say about me that I notice them?

Perhaps I should consider acting my age one of these days.

"Chinese food would be fine," Severus decides, "I assume you have a place in mind."

"The Jade Dragon. Positively the best Oriental food if you can't be bothered to go to the Orient for it," I neglect to mention it's also 50 of the inventory in the refrigerator of my flat but that's a pathetic comment of domestic living for another luncheon.

"So you've been to the Orient?"

Severus engages polite conversation as most boys his age engage the opposite sex: clumsy and predictable.

"No I can't be bothered."

I play with my words as most women my age play with men: coyly and to the obnoxious point were someone could murder me for it.

After exchanging pleasantries with the other Prefects and Head boy and Girl, Lily found herself sitting across from a particularly silent Severus Snape. He was preoccupied with writing in what appeared to be a silver journal that had blue writing on the cover Lily couldn't read from her vantage point. Not wishing to disturb the Slytherin boy but still curious to his behavior, Lily attempted to read the Daily Prophet to pass the time for a bit but found her eyes drifting occasionally back to her sullen peer.

"Staring is an unbecoming habit to adopt, Evans," Severus commented without looking up. Lily blushed slightly as she folded up her paper.

"Sorry, I was just wondering what you were doing," apologized Lily.

"Writing, naturally," Severus replied quickly, still focusing on the book.

"I just meant you didn't seem the type to keep a journal," Lily felt even more awkward with each word that passed from her lips.

"Traditionally I'm not but I'm making an exception," Severus replied, "I wasn't aware my hobbies fascinated you so."

Lily officially felt like a prying cow now.

"They don't. . . what I mean to say is that we don't talk all that much lately," Lily said quickly.

"That's because I despise your boyfriend and his cohorts," Severus muttered from behind his book, "any other mysteries plaguing you?"

Lily scowled and folded her hands on top of her skirt.

"You don't need to speak to me like a dolt, you know," commented Lily stiffly, "I'm only trying to be civil. I know you don't like James or his friends but you don't have to be so abrasive about it every time the subject comes up. I don't point out how little I care for members of your House all the time, do I?"

"Even I don't care for the members of my own House, Evans," reported Severus as he applied fresh ink to his quill, "still, you have a point about my manners. What insipid chitchat would you care to indulge? Weather? Sports? Perhaps word association game of some sort?"

Lily's jaw went slightly slack in shock.

"I was thinking about something along the lines of telling you to bugger yourself," Lily returned crossly, not caring how proper she was coming off at the moment, "if you want me to leave you alone, you could simply say so."

"But then we wouldn't be able to share such a colorful banter," Severus noted idly.

"My, you're simply in a mood today," Lily shook her head and picked up her paper.

"Direct all complaints to Black," Severus instructed, "I certainly didn't ask him to charm my shoes to sound like children laughing every time I took a step."

Lily made a disgusted noise directed to Sirius.

"He needs to start acting his age one of these days," Lily decided.

"That's the very least in way of character improvement that Black needs to undergo," said Severus before resuming their silence.

Lily and Severus continued on like that until the door to their compartment slid open and Arabella stepped into the doorway.

"Afternoon Lily, have a moment?" Arabella questioned.

"Only Prefects are permitted up here, Figg," Severus tore his eyes from his book to glower at the uninvited Gryffindor girl.

"Oh calm down, Snape," Arabella rolled her eyes, "it's not as though I asked to sit on your lap for the rest of the ride into Hogwarts."

Severus slammed his book shut and rose sharply to his feet, glaring at Arabella through the entire motions.

"I'm sure Lupin greatly appreciates your sense of humor," Severus criticized as he passed Arabella, favoring the hall over her company. Shutting the door, Arabella took the place where Severus had been sitting at faced Lily's frown.

"You shouldn't tease him like that," Lily chided tiredly, "he just takes it out on everyone else when people do that sort of thing."

Arabella sucked in a deep breath to avoid arguing with Lily.

"I think Snape's big and mean enough to fight his own battles," said Arabella with a large amount of confidence before pressing on to the reason behind her presence, "actually, I came here to apologize to you for the other day. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that just because I'm insecure about a couple of things."

This earned Lily's full attention.

"Oh, Arabella, you have every right to be upset!" Lily insisted, "We have been pretty horrible to you and it's not fair for you to feel like an outsider amongst your own friends! I'm terribly sorry for everything I said that made you think you weren't a valuable friend to me and I can't begin to take it all back."

"Lily, really, it's alright," assured Arabella, "I talked with Remus and he set me straight on how I shouldn't hold grudges that aren't worth it."

"What about your fury of words with Severus?" Lily raised an amused eyebrow.

"Oh THAT'S worth it!" Arabella laughed and Lily couldn't help but join her for a couple minutes.

"So we're friends again?" Lily asked, almost forgetting how good it felt to smile with her friend.

"Never stopped," replied Arabella.

"Well you should probably hurry off before Severus births kittens over you sitting up here," Lily advised jokingly.

Arabella's blue eyes lit up at the prospects of this.

"Yeah, I'd hate to find out there's something I actually like about him," Arabella burst out laughing again before exiting the cabin, "why not come with? I'm sure James would love to see you."

"May as well," Lily decided as she and Arabella made their way to the back of the train.

Two Days Earlier:

Severus's Perspective

My eyes search the crowded alley for familiar faces, not because I care for their company or hope to be recognized. Quite the opposite in fact. I desire nothing more than to be another anonymous face in the crowd this afternoon. However when one finds themselves walking alongside an attractive young woman who is of a noteworthy position within the Ministry it becomes hard to not draw the occasional eye.

We eat at the Jade Dragon as Aurora recommended which has a very authentic appeal to it from what I'd imagine structures in China to resemble. I note the lanterns made to resemble dragons breathing fire from their mouths just outside the restaurant. I only have a vague impression of what the interior looks like as Aurora suggests we dine outside in the fair spring weather. I personally would have preferred to sit inside since I have little care for the sun but I say nothing to protest.

Our food is served and I question how people in Eastern nations don't starve considering how impossible it is to wield two wooden splinters in the interest of eating. Aurora chuckles and offers advise that is only occasionally helpful as she makes feeding herself with chopsticks appear simple. Although I would be far more comfortable eating with a fork, I continue to fumble with the loathsome utensils rather than relinquish my pride.

I'll be certain to practice later with chopsticks so I will avoid such an embarrassing incident repeating itself in the future.

We talk about things I don't care about. Not because they aren't interesting or because I'm indifferent to Aurora's opinions, but I'm preoccupied with what is contained within the inner pocket of my cloak.

I'm not accustomed to allowing my actions to hesitate once I come to a decision; however I find my thoughts festering within my mind like a dull ache I can't properly relieve. I rehearse dialogues in my mind, rephrasing and prepping my words. Nothing feels quite satisfactory as I maintain the illusion of idle conversation aloud.

Her words and gestures distract me as they all are implemented with such perfection and poise. The wind caresses her raven hair in a way that leaves me envious.

How could a personification of maturity and elegance be related so rich in blood to that fool Sirius Black?

At last irritated with an indecision that would have me berate any other person guilty of it, I force the words available to my mind out in the open.

"I have something for you," a direct and entirely unimpressive transition on my part; however verbal tact was never a strong suit of mine.

"Oh?" If Aurora was taken off guard she provides no outward indication aside from her knowing smile. If any other person smiled as much as Aurora Black I would have taken it as a substitute for intelligent thought.

Of course I know that's not the case in the most remote of senses.

I remove a book, pale blue in cover with silver writing upon it, and place it upon the table. I rarely wrap gifts since it's an ultimate waste of time for both the presenter and the recipient. Removing her glasses from her robes, Aurora places the handsome eyewear upon the bridge of her nose as she curiously draws the book closer to her.

"It's one part of an exchange journal. Whatever is written in one book will appear in the other almost instantaneously. I think you'll find it more expedient than sending letters out in the post."

I hear myself explain the gift with the same offhand drawl I would use to contribute to an open discussion in my lessons. I allow my voice to betray nothing of everything I had invested into the project for the past month. It's as I told Lily Evans before I even knew Aurora Black existed.

Never give anyone the power to control you.

"How thoughtful. . ." Aurora smiles gently as she examines the book with precious care. Her blue eyes never abandoning the cover. She passes her long fingers over the cover which I had a single word etched in with a silvery ink.

Selene.

I doubt that a woman like Aurora hasn't received more extravagant gifts in her now or in her youth still I thought she might have appreciated it.

"How thoughtful. . ." Aurora repeats once more before her eyes meet mine. It occurs to me that Aurora's sapphire stare lacks her years. They aren't as knowing as her smile or mature as her form. They were the eyes of a girl's that never quite bothered to grow up along with the rest of her.

I question how someone could be so maternal in so many regards yet so in need of nurturing in others.

"This is probably the most considerate gift given to me," she decides aloud. I'm not entirely certain how to react to such a compliment. I would have assumed it to be polite or otherwise insincere if not for the quiet thread woven in her voice that shows a genuine gratitude.

"It was nothing," I insist uncomfortably. I want to pull my eyes from hers but there's something reluctant in me.

"Well, regardless of your impressions of it, I believe I shall keep it close to me," Aurora says as she slips the book into her robes, "this way, if I feel the need to talk to you I can do so whenever I please. It will almost be like having a real flesh and blood conversation."

"That was the idea," I nod as I watch her conceal the book. I have every intention of keeping my own journal on my person from this moment on.

"Well it was a wonderful one," she assures me.

I watch a smile form over her lips that give me a fear, in my heart, that I may be losing control.

Laughter sprang from the Great Hall under the illumination of floating candles as Hogwarts rejoined in a welcoming feast. Voices carried as students discussed what they had done over holiday down the length of their House table as mouths moved enthusiastically and ears listened with interest. Gradually having their fill of both food and conversation, students started to depart the Hall in small clusters in search of ways to spend the remainder of their evening.

"They always manage to go all out for these welcome back bashes, don't they?" Peter praised Hogwarts as he and the rest of the Gryffindor 6th Years exited the Great Hall, "what should we do with the rest of our evening?"

"I don't know, I thought I'd help Lily unpack in her room," replied James as he smiled to Lily and pulled her closer to him as they walked.

"Brilliant code you have there James, however will they solve it?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't too sly with that was I?" James grinned with an awkward laugh.

"Probably more so than I would have been," Sirius patted his friend on the back, "I guess we'll cross paths later than, hm?

"Alright we're off then," James announced as he and Lily strolled down their own corridor.

"Three months together and they're still as lovey-dovey as they were when they first started going out," Peter marveled, "reckon they have a shot at keeping it that way?"

"I know there's not a whole lot of hope for the lot of us if those two can't pull it off," decided Sirius before his eyes caught Winifred making her way towards the dungeons with a pack of 4th and 5th Year Slytherin girls following in tow, all evidently seeking her attention.

"I'll see you guys back at the tower," Sirius waved to the remainder of his House as he trotted off in the direction of the Slytherins.

"I give him a month before he drops that line about him just wanting a friend and tries to snog that viper's brains out," Peter scowled as he crossed his arms.

"Aren't you a generous one?" Arabella joined him, "I suspect she'll be coiling about him within the week!"

"Retract your claws, Pet," requested Remus as he put an arm around Arabella and turned to Peter, "what do you want to do with the rest of the evening, Mate?"

"It's almost odd having no lessons to study over isn't it?" Arabella noted.

"Lessons? Oh bloody hell; I COMPLETELY forgot to do my book report for History of Magic!" Peter moaned, "I'm only halfway through my historical fiction chronicling the formation of Western European wizarding relations since it's as dry as toast!"

Millicent Meeks had a scandalized expression on her face while Remus gaped.

"You had all holiday to do it!" Remus chided, "Now you've got thirteen hours to read the rest of your dry book and write a report on it!"

This caught Gwen McGinnis's attention in a dramatic way.

"The essay's due TOMORROW?" Gwen McGinnis shrieked, "I thought we only had to read the book."

"Why would ye think that?" Cassidy Kinkade demanded.

"Because I was partnered with Peter when it was assigned!" cried Gwen, "I can't afford to get poor marks on this assignment! I'm doing so horribly already, what am I going to do?"

"Well for starters thank Merlin yer not as bad off as Peter!" Cassidy decided as she grabbed the hood of Gwen's cloak and started dragging her off in the direction of the library, "but mostly yer going to park yer bum in the library fer the rest of the night while Millicent and I make sure ye actual write something worth turning in."

"That's right, Gwen, don't fret," said Millicent who sounded as distraught over Peter and Gwen's situation as they were while she chased after the two girls, "we'll make sure you manage alright in the class."

"Thank you!" Gwen sobbed as she appeared to be on the verge of tears or panic.

"Thank us after yer out of the woods, ye lazy gnome!" huffed Cassidy as continued to prod Gwen along.

"I'll grab my book and meet you three there," Peter groaned as he headed back in the direction of dormitories.

Watching their friends disperse, Arabella and Remus glanced at one another with worn expressions.

"Want to go for a walk around the lake before curfew?" Arabella suggested.

"Very much so since I have no desire to watch Cassidy's motivational tactics or Peter and Gwen's hysterics," Remus nodded.

Smiling to one another and their newfound privacy, Remus and Arabella walked towards the nearest exit hand in hand.

Two Days Earlier:

Aurora's Perspective

"How thoughtful. . ." I hear my voice comment as I pour over the book with precious care. My eyes memorizing the features of it as though I might someday forget it. I pass my long fingers over the cover which has a single word scribed atop it in silvery ink.

Selene.

"How thoughtful. . ." I can't help but wonder where Endymion is as my eyes meet his onyx ones.

The implication alone is beyond flattering. That Severus must truly enjoy and value our conversations to go to such great lengths to preserve them. I know he's concerned with privacy but the most endearing part of that is he wishes to include me in it. The time and effort that went into constructing the book and its magical properties. . .

. . . that and the fact that must have been thinking of me in all the time he was making it.

But it was the engraving shows he not only listens to me, but remembers my words as much as it shows that he not only remembers, but is sentimental of them.

In all my twenty-five years, I have received many tokens from friends and admires, and none of which has ever displayed the level of intimacy as Severus's gift. It wasn't an arbitrary gesture attempting to ensnare my attention or declaring a desire to want to know me.

It said that he already possessed my attention as well as he already knew me.

"This is probably the most considerate gift given to me," I announce for Severus's benefit. He should know how deeply I treasure this.

"It was nothing," Severus replies dismissively.

You sweet liar.

It's everything.

"Well, regardless of your impressions of it, I believe I shall keep it close to me," I decide while placing the book into my outer robes, "this way, if I feel the need to talk to you I can do so whenever I please. It will almost be like having a real flesh and blood conversation."

"That was the idea," he nods along.

"Well it was a wonderful one."

I watch Severus flinched as though I had just struck him.

I'm accustomed to making men uncomfortable, intentionally and not. I can recall all the tongue-tied boys from Hogwarts, the flustered men at the Ministry, and even the occasional anxious stranger. I even remember how, years ago, James Potter had a crush on her, how charming and awkward he had been about it all at once.

It that what is happening now?

Another school boy crush on me?

I want to give Severus more credit than that. He is so precise, purposeful, and liberated of most impulse. Everything about him is guarded and controlled, suggesting that he never did anything unless he truly desired to. Of course, whoever met a seventeen year old boy in complete control of his emotions?

I wonder if I may have.

I don't believe Severus has a crush on me. Such a thing would imply that there was something unrequited in it all. I suppose there's a particular tragedy in knowing that the most mature and worthwhile man I've met recently also happens to be an underage wizard my brother hates.

Of course there's always something inherently tragic about every relationship in my life.

A feel an attempt to verbalize these emotions boiling in the pit of my stomach, however, if I would have said them just now remains unknown. My wand pulsates within my robes, alerting me to a message I've received. I draw my wand to receive whatever news could not wait for my lunch break to finish.

Instantaneously I know Bartemius Crouch wants me to bring him all the notes I have from my interviews with families victimized by Death Eaters in recent months. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement wants to look over them to see if they can find any clues to the identities of the individuals responsible for torturing and murders of innocent people. I think I'll pass the notes through Frank Longbottom since the zeal Crouch has been exhibiting in his crusade provides me with a certain amount of pause as to what he would use my work for.

"It appears the Ministry has seen fit to end our luncheon," I say to Severus, aware of his eyes upon me, "I have to stop by my flat and pick up some notes to pass along to another department."

"I understand," and I know Severus does. If nothing else could be said about him, I always felt that Severus respected my work and commitment to the Ministry. That sort of acceptance would have done much to benefit tumultuous relationship Lucius and I had entertained in the past.

A thought occurs to me that should remain a thought yet I hear myself speak it.

"Of course if you'd like to accompany me, you're more than welcome."

Let it never be said I lived any other life than that of a fool. No wonder Sirius has ended up as he has with such a poor role-model as myself.

"That would be fine," Severus agrees in his usual silky voice, "I had cleared my afternoon for you to begin with."

I can't help but find this whole situation irreparably wicked. It occurs to me that I should play the part of the adult in all this; however that would imply that I considered Severus a child. It would probably be easier if I could think of him with the same sisterly fondness I do with James, Remus, Peter, or any of the other friends Sirius has introduced me to over the years but Severus would have to be so wise beyond his years and suggestive of a maturity men twice his age failed to possess.

I should know better than all this.

"What does HE want?" a snub-nosed blonde Slytherin girl demanded as she spied Sirius approaching the group of girls. Winifred glanced over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow, taking notice of Sirius Black's presence along with the rest of the girls accompanying her.

"An excellent question, Tabitha," replied Winifred with a small grin, "I imagine he'll tell us though."

Most of the 4th Years were still young enough to simply regard Sirius as an obnoxious Gryffindor the older Slytherins complained about while the 5th Years couldn't help but notice Sirius was an obnoxious Gryffindor the older Slytherins complained about that also happened to be very handsome.

It basically came down to a difference of which of the girls were placing their hands upon their hips in indignant posses and which were quickly smoothing out their hair and skirts.

"Good evening, girls," charmed Sirius, "enjoy your holidays?"

The air filled with a mixture of flattered giggles and unimpressed snorts in response to Sirius. A few girls actually bothered to answer Sirius whether it was intended to be sincere or sarcastic. Sirius nodded and smiled to those who spoke up.

"Running a poll then for Gryffindor, Mr. Black?" Winifred questioned while cocking her head to the side. A few snickers rose from the girls unwilling to give Sirius a break.

"You tell him, Winifred!"

Sirius turned his pale blue eyes on Winifred with an amused look.

"And what did YOU do with your spring holiday Miss Wilkes?"

"Spent time with a rather annoying young man who is entirely too entertained with his own company," reported Winifred.

"Good to know how Snape's doing," Sirius nodded with a broad grin, "actually I have a question about our Herbology work for the week that I was hoping you could help me out on. I hear from the Ravenclaws you're pretty on the ball with botany."

The Slytherin girl named Tabitha rolled her eyes to this.

"Well that's a line if I ever heard one!"

"Aren't you an adorable little cynic," commented Sirius in a condescending tone to the mouthy girl before turning back to Winifred, "what do you say, Wilkes? I can't tell the difference between my belladonna and nightshade."

"That's because there is no difference, Black, it's the same plant," reported Winifred with a chuckled that was echoed by some of the more unrelenting Slytherin with her.

"It appears I'm worse off than I thought," Sirius's grin grew broader.

"Bloody good thing you're easy on the eyes, Black," one of the Slytherin girls joked causing a few laughs, including one from Winifred.

"I think I'll be generous and help out Mr. Black for a few minutes. I'll see you girls back at the dormitories," instructed Winifred.

Most of the girls appeared content to leave on Winifred's command while a few appeared suspicious of Sirius still. Regardless, all the girls departed Sirius and Winifred's company without complaint. Sirius watched the girls clear off towards the dungeons.

"Lovely pack of ankle biters you have there," Sirius observed before turning to Winifred, "to what do you owe their undying allegiance?"

"Apparently I'm the one they look up to now that Mary is on the outs," Winifred shrugged, apparently indifferent to the attention.

"So that makes you the Alpha-Slytherin?" Sirius smirked as he leaned against a ledge.

"I suppose so," Winifred nodded as her eyes followed the students passing around them, "pity you can't manage the same without disgracing Potter."

"Ah, James is a different sort of popular from me," Sirius mused, "I'm popular in a happy-go-lucky way while he's popular in a dependable, admiration sort of way. It suits us fine. I don't think he'd want to be seen as so careless and I know I'm the best at heart."

"Modesty really isn't a strong suit of your, is it Sirius?" Winifred smiled.

"Not nearly as much as leadership fits you," Sirius complimented, "I much prefer knowing you're hissing orders to the Slytherin masses instead of Mary Tudor."

"Well don't get used to it, she'll manage her way back on top soon. Probably much to my intended humiliation," Winifred wagered.

"What did you do to her?" Sirius questioned curiously before adding, "not that I suspect Tudor needs all that much of a reason considering how unbalanced she is."

Winifred pulled a bit of her layered brown locks from the back of her collar before flipping it with an unconcerned expression.

"It's a long story that would probably get you to not talk to me out of principle," Winifred replied, "it's also a moot point as, like you said, Mary is just looking for an excuse to lash out at me. She's the easily threatened sort and can't stand to have a rival, not that I'm much of one."

"Still waters run deep, luv," Sirius grinned.

"Nothing still about your waters, Sirius," Winifred observed coyly.

"Yeah, but I'm as shallow as a puddle on a summer afternoon," Sirius laughed. The expression on Sirius's face suggested he was pondering just how he should take Winifred's comment. Winifred studied Sirius with her dark eyes.

"Do you really need help in Herbology?" Winifred questioned in a tone that suggested she could guess the answer.

Sirius's suddenly looked rather amused with himself.

"I scored in the top 5 for wizards last year on my O.W.L.s so probably not," Sirius admitted, "I guess I just wanted to see where we stood with one another now that we're back in Hogwarts."

"Good question," Winifred nodded along, "rumors will fly if we're seen around one another too often and too casually."

"And I'm guessing that's a problem for you," Sirius crossed his arms while examining Winifred.

"I never pretended it wasn't," shrugged Winifred, "I told you before holiday that I didn't think it was a good idea for either of us to get too friendly."

"Of course that was before you spent the night at my house," Sirius pointed out. Winifred went rigid and glanced around the hall to see if anyone overheard that remark. Sirius gave Winifred a cockeyed look in response to this, "Oh come on now, Win, half our Year saw you at my party and word will get back to the rest of them."

"Explaining my presence at a party is one thing, explaining why I was under the same roof as you during the night is another," Winifred replied unappreciatively, her eyes caught sight of her cousin making his way towards their direction, "I have to go now. Meet me in greenhouse three after nine and we'll talk more."

"Alright," agreed Sirius as he watched Winifred stride off towards her House commons with her head held in the air. He pushed himself off the ledge and noticed Snape out of the corner of his eye. Snape was harboring an even more unpleasant expression than usual. Sirius watched him pass, guessing he probably saw him talking with Winifred but chose not to comment on it for some reason.

Not particularly interested in a fight, Sirius walked off in the opposite direction which checking his wristwatch to see how far off nine o'clock was.

"So I guess this is my punishment for not coming up with better lies to tell our friends?" James asked as he found himself actually helping Lily to unpack in her bedroom. He was assigned to arranging books and knickknacks as Lily was far too modest to let him help unpack her clothing.

"I thought this was your big plot for the evening," Lily quipped as she placed a fresh uniform out for lessons the next morning.

Finishing his alphabetizing quickly, James moved behind Lily and draped his arms around her in a slightly seductive manner. His fingers traced lightly through the fabric of her sleeves.

"Far from it," James breathed into Lily's ear feeling her tense a bit under the heat of the air, "I've barely seen you for two weeks. . . I thought I would go mad if I didn't get alone with you for a bit."

Lily turned about face so she could look James in the eyes. What she saw in them caused her to blush a bit. James joined her flushed expression rather quickly as he cleared his throat.

"What-what I meant to say was I felt lost without you lately," James clarified, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

"I've missed you too," Lily admitted, "I don't know how I'm going to bear the summer."

"I was thinking about that too," James ran his hand through Lily's long hair compulsively, "I was also thinking that if you wanted to stay with me for a bit, I could show you my family home. I think you'd like it there and it's the closest thing I can think of to introducing you to my parents."

Lily stared at James, unsure of what to say. She knew there was no way her parents would allow her to stay with her boyfriend for a period of time without any adult supervision but a large part of her wanted desperately to take James up on his offer.

"We'll have to see about that later on," Lily replied softly, lifting herself up on her toes to kiss James's mouth and put an end to the conversation.

James accepted the embrace and tightened his hold around his girlfriend. He had almost forgotten how perfect it felt to have her in his arms. Quickly finding themselves not entirely satisfied with polite kisses, the motions of their mouths became more intense and intrusive. James shot his hand out for support against Lily's dresser out of fear that his knees would buckle under the passion of their attentions. About to suggest they take their reunion over to Lily's bed, James's words were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Lily nearly leapt out of her skin and pivoted her head with an expression that suggested she wasn't entirely sure she had locked her door. James exhaled in an audible and annoyed fashion as he was no longer kissing his love thanks to a rude interruption. This frustration gave way to alarm when James realized that he was without his invisibility cloak and any proper excuse for being alone in his girlfriend's room.

Glancing to James with an expression that was uncertain of what to do next, the voice at the other end of the door spoke.

"Lily? I was wondering if you had any Avidity Elixir I could borrow."

Lily sighed in relief as James's entire demeanor relaxed. Crossing the room to the door, Lily opened it and smiled at Peter.

"Sorry to interrupt anything if I'm in fact interrupting anything," apologized Peter as he fidgeted in the doorway, "but I'm kind of in a bind and am looking at a long night of composing ahead of me and I need to keep my wits about me and you know how bad I am with potion making as you'll recall from that Quidditch party last November . . . better yet let's not recall that but still . . ."

"It's alright Peter," Lily cut off the boy's run on sentence, "I've got something that might help you out."

Walking over to where she kept her surplus potions, Lily sought out the one Peter had requested as James moved to meet his friend.

"What do you need to study for?" James questioned.

"I forgot to finish our work in History of Magic," Peter moaned tragically.

"Harsh luck there," said James sympathetically before he noticed Professor McGonagall was standing right over Peter's shoulder with a rather displeased expression.

James felt his mouth go dry again.

"Good evening, Professor," he managed to rasp out causing Peter to turn with a startled jump. He heard Lily drop something from within the room but didn't dare look away from the narrowed eyes of the Head of his House.

"Good evening," McGonagall nodded as she joined Peter in the doorway and peered in, "may I ask, Mr. Potter, why you are in Miss Evans's room?"

James's smile was epically calmer compared to the racing beat of his heart against his chest. After six years, James was beginning to find he was running out of plausible lines to feed Professor McGonagall. Desperately he fought to keep his hand from running through his hair, afraid his nervous twitch would give away the game before it even started.

"Oh that," James began casually but was finding an ending to his excuse was failing him. It didn't help that it felt like McGonagall's eyes were burning into his soul mercilessly.

"Some prankster through it would be funny to throw some magical lock on my trunk," Lily's voice swooped into the conversation, "I suspect it was Sirius Black so I had James lend a wand. After all, I figured he probably taught it to him in the first place."

"He does that sort of thing to me all the time," Peter added helpfully in a small voice, "thinks inconveniencing people it right funny, the git does."

McGonagall's eyes shifted between Lily and James like twin pendulums and didn't appear particularly impressed with the young couple's explanation.

"Mr. Pettigrew, would you excuse us," Professor McGonagall said in a manner that made it clear she wasn't requesting Peter's absence. Nodding dumbly, Peter threw Lily and James an encouraging look as he headed off for the common room.

"You'll understand if I don't automatically assume the only reason Mr. Potter could think of to be with you alone in your room, Miss Evans, it to help you with a hex on your trunk," Professor McGonagall held her hands in front of her emerald robes with a stern expression.

Lily and James shared a glance that they hoped could be passed off as an innocent one.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," James said apologetically before turning back to Professor McGonagall.

The roll of McGonagall's eyes suggested that she wasn't very impressed with James's ignorance. Lily placed a hand to her chest with a deep blush and scandalized expression.

"Oh Professor!" gasped Lily in a taken aback tone, "I must admit I'm somewhat surprised that you would suspect such a thing."

"I have nothing but the utmost respect for Lily," assured James.

"And James is nothing but a gentleman at all times,"

"Not to mentions a young lady like Lily wouldn't have even been considered for the position of Prefect if she wasn't responsible and mature,"

"He is the absolute pinnacle of a proper Gryffindor: chivalrous, considerate, - "

Professor McGonagall raised her hand swiftly as a gesture to silence both Lily and James.

"Alright, I think enough lucky stars have been counted for the moment," Professor McGonagall peered over the rims of her spectacles, "it's not my place to lecture you on what behavior is acceptable of young lovers in their relationship however if I suspect something inappropriate is transpiring I will notify those whose place it happens to be, namely your parents. Am I clear?"

"Yes Professor," James and Lily replied in unison.

"Very well, James have you finished 'assisting' Lily with her luggage?" McGonagall questioned.

"I suppose for the time being," said James.

"Then kindly leave Miss Evans's room so she can finish unpacking," Professor McGonagall requested as she stepped to the side to allow James to leave.

"I'll see you later, James. Goodbye, Professor," Lily muttered as Professor McGonagall closed the door behind James. James attempted his most charming smile for McGonagall's benefit as he prepared to escort her to the common room. He felt it falter when he saw Sirius making his way up the stairs just as they were heading down.

"Mr. Black, just the person we were discussing," Professor McGonagall greeted, causing Sirius so turn to her and James with an inquisitive expression.

"And what were you discussing, Professor?" Sirius knew better than offering anything up to a teacher without first being asked.

"About how you hexed Lily's trunk shut," James prompted before Professor McGonagall could answer Sirius.

Smiling at his friend, Sirius nodded.

"Well how else am I expected to keep the boggart stowed in?" Sirius laughed, "just kidding about the boggart part, Professor."

"And if I was to take each of you aside and asked you to identify the curse, I'm certain you could both provide the same answer. After all, since Mr. Black cast it and Mr. Potter dispelled it you both should know," Professor McGonagall kept her attention divided between the boys, studying their every movement.

"The Counter-Clock Latch Lock curse?" James and Sirius said at once since it was their favorite means to keep others out of their things.

James wondered if Professor McGonagall would be as impressed with their quick response as he was.

"Thank you, Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall dismissed Sirius as he resumed his path to the dorms. McGonagall turned on the landing to face James.

"Well Mr. Potter, it looks like I have no reason to disbelieve the story you and Miss Evans have told me," Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Please, Professor, it's really no trouble," James replied quickly.

"Oh but you haven't let me finish, James," Professor McGonagall's eyes danced from behind her glasses, "I was about to say I have no reason to disbelieve other than the fact that Lily's trunk was wide opened and completely unpacked when I glanced in her room."

"Oh," James mouthed as he felt himself pale slightly. Professor McGonagall nodded to the boy's reaction.

"Consider yourself fortunate, Mr. Potter, that I lack more than suspicion at the moment, however don't expect as many lucky breaks in the future," McGonagall reported as she headed for the commons.

James rested against the wall with a loud sigh and anxious feeling within him. Deciding that if he and Lily were looking to spend time alone that night it would have to be somewhere other than her room, James's mind began to consider his alternatives.

Two Days Earlier:

Severus's Perspective

After a five minute open debate, I convince Aurora to let me pay for lunch after assuring her it's merely a polite gesture rather than some tactical blow from my end in the battle of the sexes.

Bloody stubborn woman.

After a few blocks walk further estranging us from Diagon Alley I follow Aurora into the open space of her loft. I drift my eyes across its features without making any overt motions of my head. Still displaying a certain pride in her House at Hogwarts, bronze and various blues are the prevalent colors of her flat as they are traditionally a part of her wardrobe. Apparently Aurora harbors some deep-seeded aversion to not utilizing every centimeter of space with some piece of furniture, rug, or upright lamp. Pictures and hanging ornamentation overrun the walls that are not occupied by brimming cases of books and parchments. The surface of every table is cluttered with opened books and scattered parchments which forces me to fight off the nagging compulsion to begin organizing the sad state of Aurora's domestic management.

"Were you ransacked or just in desperate need of an assistant?"

I wonder why she doesn't have a House Elf keep her flat in order for her since she was obviously too busy to do so herself. Although they lacked the fortunes of the decadent Malfoy's or dying Potter line, the Blacks are as economically secure as my own family as the luxurious quality of her possessions would indicate.

I find myself shuffling a stack of papers.

"Why? Looking for summer employ?" Aurora teases me.

I can't say there isn't something tempting in that offer.

"Odds are it will be forced upon me whether or not I seek it," I reply as I my hands behind my back to avoid any further housekeeping, "my mother insists on private tutoring during the summer days and my father would like me to intern with the Ministry as it would be advantageous for after I graduate."

I feel a smug expression claim my face. I doubt many other students at Hogwarts had my foresight or diligence to master the craft of magic and secure a place in its world. In my mind, this was a true testament of maturity in comparison to my so-called contemporaries that were dictated by something as trivial and irrelevant as their birth year. Undoubtedly, they would all be content to waste their summer months on idle fun that will be nothing more than a bleed of youthful purpose wasted.

"How ambitious of you," Aurora nods to my as she investigates an area that appeared to be her office, "I imagine Sirius and the others have no greater plans than sleeping in as long as they can manage and seeing the Quidditch World Cup live."

As usual, it feels grand when I'm proven to be so achingly correct in my judgments.

"If you're looking for perspective within the Ministry, I could speak with my Department Head and see about arranging something for you in my field," Aurora offered, turning her sapphire eyes up to me.

An entire summer in Aurora's presence.

Temptation would be a light assessment of present feeling.

"I assume my Father would want me in the Department of Mysteries with him," Severus reply reluctantly.

"Well nothing against your Father's branch, but I think it would be a waste of your skills at interpersonal insight to be stuffed in some room and pondering things not meant to be fathomed," Aurora sighed as she rolled up a few sectioned of parchment and slid them into a container.

I find her faith in my personal judgment exceptionally complimenting. At times it seems as though Aurora is one of the only people in my life that cares to recognize I'm actually aware of it.

"Then perhaps I'll mention your offer to him," I would much rather deal with my Father personally since I don't want to risk Aurora inadvertently sabotaging my chances to work with her.

A picture of Aurora and Lucius catches my attention from a nearby wall. I approach the framed image of her and Lucius in Hogwarts apparel smiling politely as they proudly display their Prefect badges. I always questioned her and Lucius's relationship. What her feelings for the Malfoy heir were and why there was such an evident tension between them. I would like to voice such questions but, when thinking of Aurora and Lucius, I remember something I am far more curious of.

"In the school library there's a book from your Year that mentioned an incident with you and Lucius Malfoy in Transfigurations class. I was interested in learning what happened with that."

I hear Aurora stifle a laugh as she places down her container of parchments with a nostalgic grin.

"It's been a long while since I have thought of that," she confessed with the youthful look in her eyes, "I think we have time for a quick story."

Aurora gestures over to a sofa centered in her loft for me to join her on. I oblige, sitting next to her as she summons two cups of tea for us with her wand.

Still smiling, Aurora began:

"It was my 7th Year at Hogwarts and Lucius and I had been dating for several years at that time. Naturally we partnered together in all the classes we shared, Transfigurations being one of them. A constant debate between Lucius and I was what was the difference between a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw. The end of the joke varied depending on who was telling it. Whenever it was at a Ravenclaws expense, the punch line was ambition and when it was a Slytherin it was conscience."

"Well one afternoon, after Lucius and I had well begun the gradual process most couples undergo as they realize they aren't as perfect for one another as they had once assumed, we got into a disagreement of opinion during a Transfiguration lab with Professor Dumbledore who taught it at the time. Lucius made it very clear that once he and I pursued a serious engagement, I was expected to abandon my career path to cater to his vision of a lady of the manner. I, in turn, made it very clear to Lucius that I hadn't spent my time at Hogwarts attempting to graduate with one of the highest placements just to become some domesticated witch. Lucius's reply to this was naturally:

"My dear Aurora, if you had been intended to use anything other than practical magic you would have been born a Wizard."

Aurora sipped her tea before smiling to herself.

"I assume that's when you struck him," I guessed.

"Naturally," she replied sounding a little pleased with herself.

"And Dumbledore said nothing?" I questioned.

"Oh no, he said something," Aurora assured with a broader grin.

"'It appears Miss Black is having a rather uncharacteristically Slytherin moment, wouldn't you agree Mr. Malfoy?'"

I feel myself join Aurora in her smile.

"Lucius and I broke up not long after that," Aurora went on.

"If I may say, it doesn't appear as though Lucius has completely abandoned his hoped for reconciling with you," I observed.

Aurora nodded thoughtfully, not looking at anything in specific as she did so.

"Every so often we forget how ill-suited we are for one another and make another failed attempt at romance but wildly successful effort in aggravating one another," she explained, "I find that particular merry-go-round quite dizzying and not all that merry."

"Perhaps that's something that's additionally Slytherin of you," I offer softly, "a reluctance to accept anything but what you set your mind and heart upon. You shouldn't have to sacrifice so much of yourself simply to accommodate another."

No longer staring into space, Aurora turns to me with an expressing that suggests she's somewhat flattered by my words.

"Thank you, Severus."

Her voice was as careful as the way her hand slipped on top of mine. It was a gesture I wouldn't have equated with one of friendship. It was the light touch of someone who was reaching out for something in a moment of vulnerability.

That or one hoping to be seized themselves.

Most certainly agreeing with James that it would be stupid to attempt anything in her room again that evening, Lily followed her boyfriend up to the attic of Gryffindor to find a new private local. Opening the door into the peak, James made an irritable noise as he spied Mundungus Fletcher seated in the middle of the room glancing up at the pair as they entered. Judging by the arrangement of charts and supplies, several other students were joining Fletcher in his Astronomy work.

"Oh goodness," Lily sniffed a pungent stench in the air as she and James approached the 4th Year, "have you been smoking up here, Mundungus?"

"Absolutely not," Fletcher insisted with a shocked expression that might have very well been insincere, "Regina Atkins attempted a fag but it turned her green and she's retching downstairs now. The girls I was with are checking up on her."

"And you didn't join her?" James crossed his arms with a stern expression. Although he had no official authority in Gryffindor, James liked to think that his popularity and position as Fletcher's Quidditch Captain counted for something. And the last impression James wanted to give the 4th Year as a role model and coach was that he approved of smoking.

"Last thing I need is to be wheezing like one of Arabella Figg's cats with a hairball during our games," Fletcher replied.

"Well that's good to know, but you and your group are going to have to find a new place to study for the night," James informed.

"James, you appalling seventeen year old male!" Lily shoved her boyfriend hopping to jar his one-track mind back onto proper priorities, "they're studying up here!"

"Yeah, Cap', we're studying for a test tomorrow night," Fletcher echoed, amused by the spat, "find yourself another dark corner."

Lily went bright red at the insinuation while James couldn't help but grin.

"Fletcher, that's bloody insubordination!" James laughed in protest.

Fletcher merely shook his head.

"This doesn't look like the Pitch to me, Cap', afraid you have no authority here," observed Fletcher with a smug grin as he went back to his chart.

"She does a prefect," James pointed out with a gesture Lily's way.

"Sorry Cap' but I don't think a respectful Prefect like Lily will be exploiting the power her badge wields because her boyfriend's interested in a snog," Fletcher wagered, his grin growing wider as he stole a glance at Lily.

"I could tell the lot of you to shove off for smoking up here," Lily noted in a disapproving voice, not wanting to seem like a push over.

"True, you could make Regina leave," Fletcher agreed, "but when the rest of my study group gets back you'll have to invent some good reasons to send the rest of us off. After all, is it fair for our grades to suffer because of one student's actions?"

"I could if you all turned a blind eye to her behavior," Lily stated, "why shouldn't the lot of you be punished for not stopping her?"

"Same logic could be turned on you," Fletcher decided with a shrug, "more so, perhaps, what with you being the Prefect and all."

Lily paused on Fletcher's deflection.

"You're right," Lily nodded, "I apologize. Tell Regina I'm taking five points from Gryffindor and will turn her over to Professor McGonagall if I hear about her smoking again."

"Will do, Madam Prefect," Fletcher saluted comically as he returned to his homework.

James eyed Fletcher carefully. Lily couldn't decide if he was enraged with the boy for thwarting his intentions or impressed that the 4th Year was so skillful at it. In fact, Lily was experiencing the same debate. Relenting, James took Lily's hand and pulled her off.

"I'm checking up on your marks on this exam, Mundungus," James reported in an amused tone, "and there will be bloody hell to pay if you don't do respectably."

"Ten strides ahead, my Captain," Fletcher waved the pair off as he resumed his studies, "Did you know I'm up for House Prefect if Lily makes Headgirl?"

"Position's as good as your then, Mundungus," James grinned broadly at Lily as he shut the attic door behind them. He waited until they were a few steps down before speaking, "Fletcher's a clever lad, pity it's going to cause me to crawl out of my own skin."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to conjure a new bright idea if we want to be on our own this evening," Lily sighed, feeling slightly annoyed herself at the apparent efforts of Gryffindor to sabotage any chances of them spending a quiet moment together.

"Well I could get my invisibility cloak . . ." James grinned at Lily under his breath.

Lily scowled at the mention of this.

"I'm not letting you paw at me beneath an invisibility cloak!" Lily hissed indignantly.

It was James's turn to look slightly shocked.

"What? No! Geez Lily, I'm not particularly interested in that public a display of affection, even if no one can see us!" James sputtered out with an embarrassed expression, "What I meant was we could use it to sneak off somewhere."

"Oh," Lily began silently chiding herself for being the randy one between them, "well, where should we go then?"

"Hmm, I'd say I could sneak you into my room but I really don't know when the other guys will wander back and the last thing I want is them catching us in the throws of anything," James pondered this as they lingered in front of the boys' dormitory, "Filch and Mrs. Norris are probably well on their rounds with makes most places in the castle a gamble to hide in. I know a couple passages that aren't ever used but it's not the sort of places I'd describe as particularly romantic. I suppose we could sneak out by the lake."

"That would be lovely," Lily decided with a small smile.

"Alright then," James squeezed Lily's hand once before opening the door to the dormitories, "give me a moment then."

Lily nodded as she attempted to inconspicuously await James's return.

It was right at nine when Sirius arrived at Greenhouse three. He attempted the handle of the door and found it unlocked. Entering then pulling the door shut behind him, Sirius spied Winifred at the opposite end busying herself by misting water over the flowerbeds with the tip of her wand.

"Professor Sprout know you're here?" Sirius questioned as he approached the Slytherin girl.

"Of course," Winifred nodded as she glanced over to him, "she doesn't mind the help since she's has her classes to think about as well as the general work that's required in carrying for all these greenhouses."

"You really like plants don't you?" Sirius moved closer to Winifred to see what she was paying particular attention to. At first glance, Sirius would have assumed the foliage to be ivy but it was a little too animate, red, and spiky.

"I have a certain affinity," Winifred reported as she noticed Sirius's presence, "watch yourself, this is venomous tentacula and it's easily antagonized by strangers."

"You don't seem all that concerned," said Sirius but still took a step back, not caring to provoke the nasty plant.

"It's more than used to me and Oleander by now," Winifred explained as she continued her watering.

"Oleander?" Sirius questioned. Winifred gestured to a brown toad sitting lazily on the soil while eyeing Sirius and softly croaking.

"Huh. I would have figured you more as a cat person," confessed Sirius as he stared at the amphibian with interest, "seemed like you would have had a bit more kinship for something that sneaks about with a fierce independent streak."

Winifred smiled as though she had just been complimented.

"I find frogs and toads more impressive," replied Winifred, "some breeds are poisonous you know."

"Is yours?" Sirius questioned, turning back to Oleander.

"Cane toads? Oh yes, but only if you cared to put one in your mouth," explained Winifred, "that's why I named him Oleander. They're a poisonous breed of flower that happens to be rather lovely."

"You'll understand if I don't accept many baked goods from you," Sirius joked.

"I don't need poisons to produce harmful or otherwise inedible foods traditionally," informed Winifred as she watched Oleander flick his tongue at stray insects, "so what sort of familiar do you keep?"

"Well, I've had a mongoose since 2nd Year named Rick," said Sirius.

"Why am I not surprised you own something famed for killing deadly snakes," Winifred shook her head, "this wouldn't happen to be the same one that mauled my cousin's leg before our Houses went up against one another in Quidditch last fall, would it?"

The manic grin on Sirius's face spoke volumes in reply.

"You're a bit of a bastard, you know that?" noted Winifred as she turned away from her gardening to stare at Sirius straight on.

"Actually, I'm A LOT of a bastard," Sirius decided, "I like to think I have a few redeemable qualities though. Speaking of which, how are we going to go about being mates?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Winifred confessed, "in all honesty I don't see how. You know how my House feels about you and I know many of your friends don't think much of me."

Sirius's expression became irritable quickly.

"Which ones?" he demanded crossly, completely of the mind to chew them out when he got back to the commons.

"It's not worth naming names," Winifred shook her head, "simply put, people who are important to us don't want us to socialize."

"Is this about me and Snape?" Sirius questioned, "that has nothing to do with you."

"No, that has something to do with Florence Copia," Winifred replied, causing Sirius to cringe.

"That was a while ago," Sirius said softly.

"Still, the last thing I should do is become another woman between you and Severus," Winifred decided as she turned back to the flowerbeds. Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder forcing her to face him again.

"Hey, those were entirely different circumstances," Sirius protested in a still quiet voice, "look, that whole seen got ugly because your cousin and I turned out to be snogging the same girl without the other knowing about it. Nobody's snogging nobody here so what's the harm in me wanting to get to know you better?"

"What's the point?" Winifred countered dryly.

"I don't know," Sirius exhaled, "I like talking to you. I think you're clever and funny and not like anyone else I know. And I think you have a good time when you're with me as well. If we're getting along fine then to hell with everyone else who doesn't like it."

"I really don't understand why this is so important to you," Winifred admitted with a scrutinizing look, "it's not like you're without friends or girls willing to be off and alone with you."

Sirius shrugged as his hands found his pockets.

"I'm looking for something different than the usually and you're about as different as they come, Win," Sirius grinned, "I mean that with fondness mind you. That and I think you could stand to have a few more friends that aren't of the oxygen producing variety."

"Oh well thank you for the charity," Winifred sarcastically replied.

"Nothing charitable about this," Sirius assured.

Winifred turned away from Sirius's face to glance at her shoulder.

"Sirius, you're hand is still on me."

"So it is."

"Keep it up, Black and I'll watch you choke on Oleander."

"See? That's why I like you."

Two Days Earlier:

Aurora's Perspective

Oddly enough, the first thing that popped into my head in reaction to my hand on Severus's was how cool his skin felt underneath my own. Smooth, like you'd expect an aristocrat's hand to be. His hand pivots beneath mine, so they are now palm to palm. Forward, considering it was Severus. I recognize I should probably look up and meet his eyes, but I fear I might not be able to trust myself beyond that if I do.

I know it would sound silly to anyone I might explain this to later, but this really wasn't what I had anticipated would happen when I met a young man named Severus Snape. I expected to meet someone like Sirius; a boy consumed with emotion, angry and confused with the bizarre state that the world usually finds itself in. In a few ways, I wasn't disappointed; however there was so much more there than I would have given a seventeen year old boy the credit of possessing. A maturity, insightfulness, a certainty about many things, and, above all, a definitive sense of self.

I found myself contacting Severus, telling myself I was just interested to see how he was fairing, identifying with something kindred I recognized within him. Again, I didn't expect his responses to be so intriguing and articulated. It wasn't long before I realized that I was looking forward to his replies, curious for what he would have to say in response to me or on the topic of himself. It didn't escape my attention that I was no longer corresponding with a former patient to gage his situation, but I wanted to convince myself that I was entertaining nothing more than a friendship. Possibly acting as something of a mentor.

Things change, as they tend to, once you reunite with someone in the flesh. All these thoughts and feelings building over the time of a person's absence, coming together into sharp focus when you finally cross paths again. Spring holiday when I arrived at his manner, he was still mature and composed if not more so than when I had last remembered.

The sort of feelings that forces one to remind themselves of who a person actually is and how old.

I hope no one ever asks what compelled me to invite him out to lunch this afternoon because I don't think I could ever provide an answer that would satisfy most people. I suppose I just wanted to be alone with him, away from people who believe they know us so well and would scrutinize our behavior. Away from situations that demand formality and professionalism. I suppose I wanted to see what I was inventing of the situation and whether or not I was infatuated with something simply not there. Perhaps there was nothing more to Severus than the convincing illusion of a bright, adult individual who has the unfortunate luck of being several years younger than he actually felt.

And then he had to give me the most splendid gift I have ever received and say the most perceptive comment on my life that I ever heard.

I dare my eyes to make contact with Severus's. There's something expectant in them, as though he's waiting for me to do something specific.

I don't disappoint.

It's a common perception that men make the first move whenever engaging in some romantic gesture but I know if I wait for Severus to be forward a century will probably pass us by. There's nothing sudden or subtle to my motions as I lean in towards my date for the afternoon, showing my full intention to kiss him with my half open lips and eyes.

Last chance to be the adult in the situation, Severus.

He evidently declines as my mouth meets his. There's nothing insistent about the kiss. It's simply a declaration of feelings less than platonic. Something small and conscionable that can easily be rationalized and forgotten if we find this to be a horrible mistake once the moment passes.

There's something inherently perverse and suggestive about caressing the lips of a boy my brother's age with my own. This thought makes me aware of many other reservations that should be passing along my mind at the moment.

My age, for starters. I'm sure that most would question why I can't find someone closer to my own age to romance. That and underage wizards typically don't become involved with junior department heads without a scandal consequently following. There is also the issue of Severus being a former client of mine and the potential ethical ramifications of such a thing. In fact, most wound consider this a seduction but that would imply that I had put any more thought into this moment and Severus probably has.

And yet, in the end, these are all societal concerns. Norms imposed by strangers and stagnant customs that never bother to reevaluate circumstances on an individual basis. Policies that place emphasis on position and age over any personalities and emotions that may be involved. Of course, considering that old wizarding families are willing to marry cousins to keep their blood pure and muggle-borns are treated worse than second-class citizens I'm not placing a particularly large amount of interest in our enlightened culture.

Society's concerns, not mine.

However, family concerns me.

I find my thoughts drifting on Sirius. . .of what his reaction would be to all this. I can only imagine the betrayal and rage he would feel to know his favorite sister was kissing his most loathed peer. While I can say nothing of societal opinion would make me apprehensive or regretful of my actions, hurting Sirius gives me pause.

Physically and emotionally.

With a breath I pull my mouth from Severus's. I lick my lips, remembering his mouth, and consider what I should say to him to begin to rationalize my sudden apprehensions without making him more resentful of my brother than he already is.

The meticulous contemplation of how to best achieve results without sabotaging the fruitfulness of them.

This is what once made me a Ravenclaw.

This is what gives Severus the opportunity to react before I do.

"I wonder what time it is," mused Arabella as she and Remus strolled around the moonlit lake with their arms around one another.

"I'm not too sure, I forgot my watch," Remus shrugged, "oh well, I know more than one way into the castle and back to Gryffindor that won't get us caught. Nothing to fret about."

"Alright then," Arabella smiled at her sandy haired boyfriend, catching sight of the half moon over his shoulder. She felt her mouth drop into a slight frown, "full moon isn't far off, is it?"

If Remus wasn't so certain they were the only ones out walking where they were, he might have been a little more cautious about the conversation Arabella was pursuing.

"No it's not," Remus didn't need to look at the sky to know this.

Whenever the full moon was about a week off he could feel something feral in him growing restless underneath his usually composed demeanor. Something scratching at the surface, begging to be drawn out. It fed on the most powerful emotions normal people had a hard time reining in, such as fear, anger, and lust, making Remus's chore of keeping them all in check even more strenuous.

"So, when do I get to spend a night out at the Shrieking Shack with you and the other boys?" questioned Arabella.

"Never," Remus simply replied.

"Why not?" Arabella demanded, staring hard at Remus's face.

"Because I don't need you to see me like that," said Remus softly, "It's not fascinating or impressive; it's a part of my life you'd do well to keep far away from. And if you try and talk any of our friends into it, I'm liable to kill the lot of you."

"Aren't you being a tad dramatic?" Arabella noted.

"No I'm not," Remus frowned with a grave tone, "I'm not stable around then, Arabella. I can't guarantee your safety and I'll be damned if that's something I'm willing to gamble."

"Well why are you willing to gamble with James, Sirius, and Peter?" pressed Arabella, "if you say it's because they're boys I'LL be liable to kill you."

Remus chuckled at this and shook his head.

"No, nothing so sexist," Remus assured as he considered what he should say next. Deciding to remain true to his word and not bother keeping secrets from Arabella, Remus continued on with his thought, "they're animages, Arabella, illegal ones at that. They did it to keep me company. . . keep me under control. . . keep me sane."

Arabella had a more than shocked expression draped across her face.

"You're serious?" Arabella said in awe.

"Aren't I always on this topic?" Remus replied.

"Bloody hell, I had no idea," Arabella breathed.

"That's sort of the idea behind a secret," Remus smiled, "naturally you can't go about telling people this."

"Naturally," Arabella agreed before smiling at Remus, "you think they could teach me how to do that? How to become an animage? I always wanted to be a tabby cat like Professor McGonagall or maybe something big like a cheetah or lion."

"I don't know," Remus wasn't sure if he liked where Arabella's enthusiasm was going, "Arabella, it's a really hard thing to manage. The simple fact James, Peter, and Sirius accomplished it so young and in such few years is a true testament to their determination and skill – "

"And you don't think I could pull it off," Arabella guessed at the end of the sentence in a wounded tone, "you don't think I'm a clever enough witch to do it."

Remus stopped walking and spun Arabella in front of him so he could face her.

"Stop! Don't say such mad things," Remus insisted sharply, "you're not dumb, Arabella! You're as good a witch as any walking these halls and I'm not implying anything short of that. All I'm saying is that sort of thing is a major commitment and a risk that I'm not entirely certain I want you taking."

Arabella's fists gripped the front of Remus's cloak as a show of her tension as her eyes burned into his.

"Remus, I want to be with you. I want to be a part of your life . . . every part of it!" declared Arabella desperately, "I'm willing to do this to be near you. I'm willing to put in the time and effort to be with you. Why can't that just make you happy to know someone is willing to do that for you? Why do you have to behave like I'm asking for something so terrible?"

Remus moved his hands onto Arabella's shoulders. Uncertain of whether he wanted to pull her closer or push her away.

"I don't want you to be making any large investments in me, that's all" Remus said simply.

"That's all!" Arabella repeated in a high pitch, "what the bloody hell are you going on about?"

"I'm just saying the novelty of a werewolf boyfriend might wear thin one of these days," Remus explained himself softly, voicing one of his most haunting fears about the future of their relationship "and the last thing I want you to feel is that you've wasted some major part of your life because of something you felt at the time."

Arabella's bottom lip quivered in sadness and outrage as she felt tears blurring her sight of Remus. She used the sleeve of her cloak to wipe them free. Remus bit his lip with a mournful expression as a show that he had not intended to cause that reaction in his girlfriend.

"Arabella . . ." Remus attempted to pull her closer to him but she jerked herself out of his friends. Remus fought every instinct to try and draw her near again as he just kept his arms at his side and watched her.

"You're a fool you know that?" Arabella sniffled the words, "you're so content with feeling sorry for yourself and pushing people away that you COMPLETELY ignore that there are people who want to be there for you! 'The novelty of a werewolf boyfriend', that's bloody rich YOU GIT!"

Remus flinched at the words, feeling his breaths growing fast. A part of him was howling to silence the girl agitating him with either passionate affection or swift rage, but Remus refused to indulge either antagonized emotion and said as his girlfriend pressed on.

"I really don't know how you think little girls imagine what the love of their life will be like but I'll give you a hint: it's not this! Little girls want fairy tale romances and princes with curses that they can kiss away and make everything happily ever after! They don't want princes who are so busy with self-loathing and intimacy issues that they would rather be miserable and sorry of themselves that happy with a woman who sincerely loves them . . . NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY HATE THEMSELVES!"

Arabella was actually panting at this point from the heatedness of her words and the emotions they stirred within her. She felt worn in her efforts, question if her best would ever be enough for Remus and wondering if she could give him more than that if she had to. She wanted to be with Remus but the idea that he didn't want to be with her was like some horrible rot within the very core of her person.

"I don't hate myself," said Remus numbly, uncertain of whether this was the truth or a reflexive reaction to Arabella's claims.

"Then I suggest you stop acting like you do," Arabella advised tiredly.

Cautiously, Remus approached Arabella and wrapped his arms around her.

"Look you're upset and I think the both of us really aren't saying things like we mean them at the moment. Let's finish our walk and head back to the castle, alright?" Remus spoke softly by her ear, furious with himself for making her so insecure and hurt with his insecurities.

"Can't we just stand like this for a bit?" Arabella pleaded into his chest as she buried her face against him, "Like nothing's wrong with us?"

"Nothing is wrong with us. We have our problems just like everyone else," Remus assured gently, "but we can stay here if you'd like."

"I would," Arabelle nodded into him, "I love you, Remus."

"I love you too," said Remus, holding Arabella so tight that he feared she would slip right through his fingers.

He felt Arabella breathing heavily against him, her body tense and warm, much like his own. Remus noticed his hands wandering over her frame, as though they were searching for something specific. . .something obvious. Some sort of reaction. Lowering his mouth to the side of her face, Remus slowly started to kiss the tears off her flesh, finding his lips lingering across it much longer than he intended. Remus was finding himself wanting less and less to comfort and calm Arabella . . . he wanted to make her riled and anxious.

Taking her mouth with his, Remus found Arabella more than accepting of the embrace. It was obvious she was looking for an escape from the conflicting feelings boiling over within her. Something pure and obvious in showing how he felt. The sort of assurances savage passion provided in pushing life's uncertainties from the foreground. The desperate outlet many quarrelling lovers indulged.

Remus had no particular fondness for the word 'lovers' and everything superficial it implied. . .

. . .however, at that moment, Remus had no particular fondness for a game of semantics.

"I don't know what made me more uncomfortable, watching them fight like that without them knowing or . . ." Lily didn't particularly feel like finishing her whispering sentence as she and James attempted to put as much distance between themselves and Araballa and Remus from beneath James's invisibility cloak.

No sooner had Lily and James found their way out to the lake with the help of James's cloak and picked out a cozy spot more forces decided to work against them. Brad McKinnon and his steady girlfriend nearly tripped over the two, oblivious to their concealment by the invisibility cloak and provoked Lily and James into changing their location. Underneath a large tree, a tickling up Lily's leg turned out to be a spider rather than James's hand which warranted more than a few moments to settle her back down and into any sort of amorous mood.

Right about them was when Remus and Arabella's heated words followed by even hotter petting provided the final incentive Lily and James needed to decide that they should probably move elsewhere on school grounds.

James refused to be daunted in the least.

"Well, Hagrid the Groundskeeper tends to be about this time of night so that makes the other side of the castle off limits," James thought aloud in a low voice, "I suppose if we hung about the edge of the Forbidden Forest no one would think to look for us there."

"No they most certainly wouldn't because they wouldn't think that anyone was so stupid and desperate for a snog that they would venture amongst monsters to have one!" Lily hissed in reply.

"Oh come on, you know nothing the only things worth worrying about are content to roam in the heart of it. We'll be fine," James assured confidently.

"This is shaping up like a horror movie if you ask my opinion," Lily muttered.

"I'll protect you," James slipped his arm around Lily's waste to emphasize his point. He caught Lily roll her eyes under the moonlight.

"You had to jinx us like that didn't you?" Lily continued to grumble.

"Pardon?"

"Oh never mind, James. I'll go along with it but no more than a few meters in I mean it!" Lily insisted.

"Alright, then," James nodded as they entered into the edge of the woods.

Devoting a couple minutes to walking deeper into the forest, Lily and James felt confident enough to shed their cloaks and light the ends of their wands to guide their path. Stopping by a collection of thick trucked trees, James quickly found himself pinning Lily's back to it as they resumed the kissing that had continuously been interrupted that evening.

Soft and urgent noises passed through Lily's lips as James's mouth roamed over her face and neck while his hands roamed elsewhere. He felt Lily's hands beneath his outdoor cloak, running across the back of his shirt. James was so focused on the attentions being shared between them he barely noticed an acorn bounce off his shoulder. Slipping his hand into a mess of Lily's hair to cradle the back of her head, James quickly became aware of several more pellets striking his back. Reluctantly pulling away from Lily, James picked up his wand and used it to peer above.

"Is there a loose branch or something?" James questioned aloud.

"Maybe we should move," Lily craned her neck to investigate as well.

Small figures that appeared to be made of moss and twigs paced the branches overhead with accusing brown eyes staring down. Apparently the young couple had caught the attentions of the tree guardians within the Forbidden Forest. The sprites chattered angrily down at Lily and James in voices that sounded like two sticks being rubbed together. As a show of their protest for whatever had agitated them so much, the Bowtruckles began to peel bark from their various trees to throw at James. If James hadn't honed his reflexes over the years between Quidditch, practical jokes, Slytherin attacks, and Sirius's friendship he would be more worried about the nature spirits poking out one of his eyes.

"Bloody hell!" James grunted resentfully, "I'll be shaking a small forest out of my robes and hair later on!"

"I can't imagine what's got them so upset - " Lily paused mid sentence as she covered her gaping mouth and part of her deep blush with her hands, "oh James, they're mad at us for . . . um. . . desecrating their trees."

"And them being the territorial critters they are. . ." James groaned as he continued to duck the relentless pitches of the Bowtruckles, " . . . still, they don't appear particularly cross with you."

"Well, since Bowtruckles are mostly familiar with creatures in the wild and its far more natural for the male of a pair to be the dominant one, they probably reckon it will be more productive to threaten you into clearing off than me since you're the aggressor," spoke Lily thoughtfully as she applied her superior intellect to the situation.

James turned to scowl at Lily as the look caught him a sharp clip to the ear as the tree sprites evidently found a stash of pinecones to use as projectiles.

"OH COME ON!" James spat out, insulted, "I'm no more an aggressor than any other wizard my age!"

"Oh, and the average wizard ISN'T aggressive?" Lily crossed her arms and offered James a challenging but amused look.

"Borrow that look from Snape, did you?" asked James sarcastically.

"Well, I'm not the one you have to convince," Lily shrugged.

Sighing, James tried to get a look at the Bowtruckles overhead and hoped it wouldn't cost him is eyes.

"Alright, I'm very, truly sorry about what we did in your woods," apologized James as humbly as he could arrange under the circumstances, "it was wrong of us to be so disrespectful and we'll be on our way if it's all the same to you."

As abruptly as it started, the assault from above stopped. Shaking his head and causing a few twigs lodged in his black hair to fall free, James made his way over to Lily and moved to take her hand into his. His skin had just brushed hers with the Bowtruckles resumed their pelting of James while sparing Lily once more of their attack.

"NOW what's their complaint?" James demanded, growing more than annoyed with the tree guardians, "I'M NOT HURTING YOUR RUDDY TREES!"

Lily considered the situation and the Bowtruckles behavior as stifled a chuckle.

"Well, I was making a bit of noise, maybe they thought you were hurting me," suggested Lily.

"Looks like you made better friends with the lot of them last November than I did," James muttered as he swatted the twigs raining down on him away from his face, "I'M NOT HURTING HER EITHER!"

"I think we should just clear off," Lily decided as she scooped up the invisibility cloak and started making her way back towards the castle grounds, "don't follow me too close and they might let up."

"How this forest remains populated is beyond me with these nasty little sprites ruining the mood," James seethed as he followed Lily out at a safe spacing and considered any other locations at Hogwarts that he might have previously overlooked.

Two Days Earlier:

Severus's Perspective

The presence of Aurora's hand in mine is something strange, yet inviting. It becomes increasingly easy to forget all the labels attached to ourselves as we simply sit on a couch holding one another's hand.

Accredited witch and underage wizard.

Junior department head and student

Black and Snape

I suppose sometimes it doesn't get anymore complicated than a man and a woman alone.

There's a reservation in her demeanor as she fails to look at me. Undoubtedly she's attempting to formulate some eloquent rationalization as to why I should no longer be holding her hand in mine and why we should leave her flat and any unconventional feelings that may have followed us into it.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed her leaning closer to my face. I ponder the ramifications of pursuing such a motion, all the complications that would undoubtedly follow, but still I don't move. I close my eyes just as her mouth touches mine.

It was nothing like my experiences with Florence Copia. This was far more careful and cordial with a hint of uncertainty. Not the reckless impulsiveness of youthful embrace. It's as though she's weighing the consequences through a gesture, attempting to discern what they might be worth.

A part of me knows that this can never work . . .never last. It's impossible to find a harmony between complications of our separate worlds. The kinds of irreconcilable differences that cut to the marrow of a soul once brought into the light. Of course, the ethic associated with this are not the ones that would concern most other people in our situation.

Her age is meaningless to me, as well as her current position with the Ministry and her brief, prior one as my Analyst. I have no care that Lucius Malfoy may love her or that my mother may hate her. I am even willing to look past the irrefutable fact that she is the sister of Sirius Black.

The only thing that haunts my mind is what Aurora Black would say if she knew I was a Death Eater and I can't possibly imagine any part of it would be positive.

I feel her lips leave mine; her eyes are dazed and hesitant as though she somehow read my thoughts.

I was never one to submit to the whims of passion anymore than I was ever one to allow an opportunity to seize what I desired pass me by.

This is what makes me a Slytherin.

This is what makes me resume kissing Aurora Black and seemingly defuses whatever reservations she may have held within the renewed embrace.

Perhaps this won't last, but for the time being this is the only things I desire.

And, in time, perhaps I will find an opportunity to prolong this desire indefinitely.

"The roof?" Lily gaped at James, beginning to wonder if he was suffering from a tragic loss of blood to his head.

"Yeah, the roof," James defended his plan as he led Lily up the stairs inside Hogwarts castle beneath his invisibility cloak. He pulled out his map to make sure Filch or Mrs. Norris were nowhere in the area, "we just have to climb through a window and we'll be on this stretch that's as flat as the ground you walk on. It probably was once a courtyard or something but people seem to have forgotten about it. Anyway, it's completely safe provided we don't get caught heading out there."

"Maybe we should just call it a night," Lily suggested wearily.

"I think you should know by now that I am a) relentless in pursuing anything I want b) eager to meet any challenge placed before me and c) not about to admit defeat short of my dying breath," James reminded Lily as he paused on a landing in front of the window he had evidently been looking for, "well this is it, I'll go through first and help you down."

Pushing off the cloak, James hoisted himself up onto the window ledge and used his wand to disengage the lock and push the double panes open. Swinging his legs over the side, James hopped down and turned around expecting Lily to follow. Lowering herself without the spry quality James had demonstrated Lily felt James's hand guide her down the rest of the way onto the flat roof.

Glancing around, Lily saw that James was right in suspecting that the section of roof had probably been once a courtyard. Grass growing rampantly in some places and drying off in others was sectioned off with a stone walkway leading around. A lifeless fountain was as overrun with weeds as the air was with the melody of crickets. Wandering the path into the wild court, Lily and James found a bench to sit upon and overlook the tiers and towers surrounding them.

"I like this place," Lily decided with a smile as she gazed around approvingly.

"Yeah, I'm a little sorry I didn't think of it before now, but as you can see, not many people seem to," James nodded as he put his arm around Lily.

Leaning into James, both closed their eyes and listened to the soft noises of the singing insects and the wind rustling through the blades of grass.

A sharp crackle snapped both sets of eyes open as Lily and James realized they had just heard thunder only a second before large droplets of rain started showering over them. Feeling his hair and clothes begin to soak through, James started to laugh humorlessly at every effort of his being alone with Lily so thoroughly thwarted that night. His glasses washed over with droplets and he sighed.

"Well, that's it. I give up," announced James.

"I thought James Potter never gives up?" Lily smiled at him, her long red hair coiling and dripping like the branches of a willow tress.

She looked stunning in the rain.

"Yeah, well that was before the universe took to conspiring against me," James grinned back at her, standing up. He extended his hand to help Lily to her feet, "let's head back before you catch your death."

Lily accepted James hand but pulled him back onto the bench with her instead. Pulling her wand out and holding it out from her and James.

"Engorgio Umbrella," Lily summoned as a large, beach umbrella popped out of the top of her wand. Lily caught it by the handle and wedged it in a crack on the bench so it would stay upright on its own. James grinned broadly at his girlfriend's cleverness as they were not out of the rainfall.

"I love you," James told her as he leaned in and kissed Lily.

Lily drew back slightly and pulled James's glasses off his face, folded them up and put them into the pocket of her shirt. After which she proceeded to carefully unfasten the train of buttons running down it. James stared dumbly at Lily for the first two until it occurred to him to say something.

"What are you doing?" James realized how obvious this question was but it was all he could think to say.

"Um, giving you the sign that it's alright if you don't feel like being an entirely proper gentleman tonight," Lily replied softly with a blush.

"You mean. . ." James didn't dare say what he thought she meant.

Lily laughed awkwardly at this.

"Well, not THAT improper but enough to raise a blush," Lily clarified shyly.

James nodded and smiled bashfully as well as he leaned into kiss Lily once more, loving the sensations of the cool damp on her warm flesh. Reveling in her hot breaths and soft sounds, James new he didn't have to question whether this was fast for them like he had on Christmas night. This felt natural, logical, and almost cumulative of his and Lily's relationship. Even though they weren't going to go as far as most wizards his age would have preferred, James couldn't have wanted anything more intimate from Lily and trusted she felt the same. . .

At 11 years and eight or night months respectively in age; Lily and James first met.

At 16 years and eight or nine months respectively in age; Lily and James each met someone who turned their heads.

At 16 years and nine or ten months respectively in age; Lily and James slowly began to realize that they were unable to turn their heads away.

At 16 years and ten to eleven months respectively in age; Lily and James each kissed someone who had ruined them for any other's embrace,

At 16 years and eleven months to 17 years respectively in age; Lily and James unofficially ended a friendship for something deeper.

At 17 years and one or two months respectively in age; Lily and James confessed a love to someone they had never felt before and never wanted to feel again with anyone else.

And at 17 years and three or four months respectively in age, Lily Evans and James Potter engraved yet another milestone with one another's names on it.

One marking the first time they ever made themselves so very vulnerable to someone who had all the power in the world to hurt them and would never use it.

The rest of the milestones missing from their relationship would just have to come later on. . .


	32. OffColor Courtships

Off-Color Courtships

Written by: Oy! Angelina

Beta-read by: jkit10

It was the first morning after spring holiday and the Great Hall was alive with students enjoying their breakfast before a busy day of lessons that would soon follow. At the Gryffindor table, casual conversation between the 6th Years came to a halt as Arabella and Remus approached the table. Lily and James weren't certain if the couple would still be fighting considering how heated their exchange had been the night before and exchanged several cautious looks as a show of this. However seating themselves side by side across from the other 6th Year couple, Remus and Arabella appeared to be perfectly affectionate with one another. . . if not more so than usual.

"Morning," Arabella greeted as she poured herself a glass of orange juice while Remus busied himself with corned beef hash.

"Good morning to you," Gwen McGinnis retuned, "you were out so late last night I wouldn't have thought you'd be this chipper."

"Well I am so enjoy," Arabella replied simply.

"Would Remus have something to do with that?" Sirius pressed as he passed off the Daily Prophet he had been glancing at to Peter. Remus chose to begin eating rather than entertain Sirius's question.

"Not that he missed all that much," Peter commented as he paged through the sections, "you just kept playing those Muggle records Gwen, Cassidy, and Millicent pitched in for your birthday half the night until the 7th Years threatened to toss you from the highest point on the castle."

"By the way, girls, I LOVE your collective taste in music," Sirius grinned, ignoring Peter out of habit.

Cassidy waved off the compliment, not much of a morning person usually, while Gwen's expression lit up in delight as she beamed at Sirius.

"Really? I thought you'd fancy Muggle music if someone gave it to you," Gwen declared, evidently proud of herself.

"Their wonderful, I've even started to memorize a few by heart," Sirius assured, "out of curiosity, which of you picked out what?"

"Well, I contributed the classical music and jazz, Cassidy took a liking to the rock music, and Gwen has a thing for show tunes because she's a Muggle born and watches their teli on holiday," Millicent listed off.

"Well life's pretty bloody boring without magic, you know," Gwen snorted before returning to her breakfast. Sirius was about to resume his own shoveling of morsels when he raised an eyebrow over towards Arabella's section of the table.

"What's that on your neck, Arabella?" Sirius gestured with an amused grin to the girl's collar which was no longer covered by a thick curl of blonde. The other people seated around them turned and noticed the dark blemish on Arabella's throat that looked suspiciously like a bite mark. Sirius turned to Remus, grin spreading wider, "Something wild get at you last night?"

Remus wrapped his fingers on the table with a sour expression at his friend's suggestive inquiries until a sharp shove from Arabella forced him to refocus his attentions.

"Remus J. Lupin!" Arabella hissed with an embarrassed expression, "what on earth possessed you to bite me so hard?"

Caught off guard, Remus offered up a shrug with a defensive and flustered look.

"I reckon because you were moaning so loud when I did it," he replied as though it were obvious. Becoming suddenly aware of their audience, Remus joined his girlfriend in her embarrassment as the other members of their Year erupted into amused and awkward laughter towards his comment.

Ignoring their friends, Arabella began to rifle through the pockets of her robes until she produced a compact and began to generously apply some concealer to the recent topic of discussion.

"Well there's no way I can go on to class as I am now! I swear, Remus we might as well make up a memo to pass about since there seems to be little point in attempting to maintain any sort of personal life," Arabella fumed before glaring at Sirius accusingly, "And why do YOU always notice these sorts of things, you randy wanker?"

"Because I know what to look for!" Sirius laughed as though it were something to be genuinely proud of.

"Ignore him, Remus," Lily advised with a friendly smile, "you and Arabella a grand together. I really couldn't think of a better match, honestly."

Arabella and Remus smiled appreciatively at Lily before turning to one another with affectionate gazes. Peter furrowed his brow as he forked a slice of apple off his plate and chewed it thoughtfully.

"That's true, but Lestrange and Tudor are such an odd pair," Peter noted with a nod over to the Slytherin table, "I mean, they're terrors to everyone else under the sun but sweet as honey to one another. You'd think they wouldn't be able to switch gears like that, would you?"

"Why not?" Lily shrugged, not bothering to look at the couple in question, "after all, who says you can't be positively wicked and still love?"

"You'd think unadulterated evil simply wouldn't have the time for all those emotional trapping," James snorted while buttering his toast.

"Just because they're nasty to other people doesn't mean they can't be kind to each other," Lily reported, "You've seen them together. Not that I care for either, myself, but it's obvious by the way they get along that they really care about each other."

"I suppose," James replied indifferently, "I just hope they break it off. Couldn't stand the thought of what kinds of kids those two would raise."

Mundungus Fletcher perked up a bit a few spaced down on the bench as he leaned in towards the middle of the table and spoke down its length.

"You and Barty Crouch. He fancies Tudor," Fletcher interjected, obviously overhearing the older student's conversation, "he swears that she's the prettiest lass walking the corridors. I, of course, hold a different opinion on the matter but I was always a bit more on the ball socially than Barty tends to be."

"Well that says little for Crouch's taste in women," Peter shook his head, before glancing purposefully over to Sirius, "those Slytherin girls are bad news."

Sirius placed his fork down so he could devote all his energy into glaring at Peter. His expression made it very clear that he was less than pleased.

"You know, I'm starting to get a little tired you running your mouth off on this subject every time it comes up," Sirius decided.

Peter put his own fork down and met Sirius with his own challenging expression.

"Well, I'm far more tired of you running after silver and green skirts," Peter boldly returned.

Sirius pressed his lips together as a flare caught his icy eyes. Peter's demeanor showed he had no intention of backing down from his stance on the matter. Guessing there were few pleasant placed for this discussion to venture further into, James took it upon himself to play peacemaker.

"Come on, there's nothing new about these gripes, Mates," James soothed, "you're going to just have to accept a difference of opinion and get past this. Peter, tact withstanding, means well in all this Sirius, you know that. Just as much as Peter should know that he'd have better luck talking a Black Norwegian Dragon out of a fiery rampage than making Sirius back down from anything."

"He still shouldn't be carrying on like that," Sirius huffed.

"Just agree to disagree and be done with it!" Remus snapped irritably, growing tired with the back and forth, "bloody hell the both of you! Must you ruin everyone's meal with this nonsense. PETER, simply shut your mouth on the matter if you have nothing kind to say and SIRIUS must you take one every last petty argument offered up to you? The two of you, honestly!"

Sirius smiled at Remus as he leaned into his hand.

"Here that Peter? We'd best call it quits before Remus takes to biting one of us in addition to Arabella," Sirius joked.

Scowling, Remus returned to his tea with a curt upturn of his nose.

"Do shut up, Sirius," Remus evidently didn't find as much humor in the comment. Arabella simply shook her head with a marveling expression.

"All this from a simple comment the Crouch boy made. I'd pummel him for stirring up so much trouble if I could find any proper logic to back me up," Arabella traced the conversation with amusement.

Finishing a mouth full of eggs in a hasty swallow, Fletcher turned to Arabeall with a broad grin.

"Well it's not really fair to do that to old Barty, he's just suffering from a severe under appreciation for what makes for a good woman and is traditionally is so tight-lipped on all things that he can't be accused of starting anything with anyone," Fletcher defended his friend while he continued to smile, "Now this git in his House and Year, Gilderoy Lockhart, constantly carrying on with gossip that loud mouth is. I can't believe he actually mentioned to me in Charms that their House team is training up a new Seeker for the match against us in May. Not the sort of thing you broadcast to a member of the opposing team now is it?"

As it always did, mentioning Quidditch grabbed James's and Cassidy Kinkade's attention as they both stared at the 4th Year with a strong interest in his new conversation.

"Did they happen to mention who they were using now?" James pressed, curious about what the Ravenclaws were plotting.

"I think they said her name was Atropos," Fletcher replied, "know her?"

"Ophelia Atropos?" Cassidy raised an eyebrow to James, "she's in our Year but I don't think I've ever seen her set foot on the pitch."

"I think you're right," James nodded thoughtfully, "I wonder what they think Gideon can do with a snitch that their regular Seeker can't."

"I'll ask Bronwyn Weaver about it, I think they're mates," Cassidy offered, "she might mention something on the subject."

James shook his head dismissively to this.

"No, that's alright Cass," James insisted, "I don't know what Ravenclaws planning to pull out of their hats with this, but I doubt it'll be anything underhanded. Odds are they just managed some strategy that they think will give them a tactical advantage. Should be interesting."

"All the more reason for us to snoop around, if you ask me," Fletcher crossed his arms.

"I see no need to stoop to spying like a bunch of Slytherin. We'll win on our own merits or we won't win at all," James countered, giving the final say on the subject, "besides I know we'll be brilliant regardless."

"I'm sure you will," said Lily as she kissed James on the cheek and rose from her seat, "we should probably be off to class."

"Yeah," James nodded as he joined Lily on his feet, glancing over to their friends, "you lot still finishing up?"

"We'll be along in a moment I suspect," Arabella guessed as she attempted to finish her glass of juice. The rest of the Gryffindors nodded along as they finished the last parts of their meal and began organizing their things for class. Hand in hand, Lily and James exited the Great Hall and headed off towards the Charms classroom.

"Sirius needs to learn to mind his own business," Lily shook her head, "he'll cause Remus to stop talking to him if he keeps prying in his and Arabella's relationship."

James just started to laugh in reaction to this.

"It's a guy thing, luv," James rationalized for his girlfriend, "in his own way, Sirius was paying Remus a compliment."

Lily's brow furrowed as she eyed James with a confused expression.

"So YOU'D be flattered if Sirius or anyone else for that matter started to broadcast out private life to half the Great Hall?" Lily attempted to follow along with the logic.

"Well, I imagine I'd be a bit upset, but I'd know it was meant in good fun," James went on, slowly realizing he had just trapped himself in a conversation he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to have a part in.

"What's fun about everyone knowing the intimate details of your relationship?" Lily demanded, her pitch rising into a sharp note, "I'd have been far more upset than Arabella had been if Sirius had dug into me and you like that."

"Why's that?" James wondered, it was his turn to look confused.

'Well I think it's obvious! It's nobody's business but ours concerning what we do or do not do when we're off and alone," Lily crossed her arms in a slight pout, "that wouldn't bother you at all."

"No, because I don't care what people think and, most importantly, I'm not ashamed about anything I do with you," said James as he mimicked Lily's posture.

Lily's expression grew most indignant as she gaped at James.

"I didn't say I was ashamed," Lily hissed.

"I didn't say you were either," James pointed out before adjusting his glasses and meeting Lily's eyes, "but are you. I mean, about last night."

Lily halted her pace as she glanced around the hall to see if anyone was investing interest into her and James's dialogue. Grabbing the sleeve of her robes, James tugged her off to an archway so they could continue their conversation while he worked his hand through his coarse mop of hair.

"I didn't say that either," Lily spoke in a soft but firm voice.

"I'm just . . .I'm just making sure," James breathed, "I'd hate to think you were just going along with something because you thought I wanted it. That's not what's important to me."

"James, it's not like we. . .slept together." Lily blushed a bit with her sentence.

"Yeah. . .but it wasn't just hand holding and snogging either," James muttered as he squeezed Lily's hand, "I just don't want you feeling like we did certain things too soon."

"I don't feel like that at all," Lily smiled reassuringly as she balanced herself on her toes so she could give her boyfriend a kiss on the lips. James appeared to relax a little bit in reaction to this gesture and nodded before leaning in to kiss her again.

"So we'll be having Charms in this dark corner then?"

Lily and James turned to look over their shoulders and spied Sirius smirking along with the other Gryffindors in their Year. Lily and James felt their cheeks grow hot as they stepped out from the archway and into the main corridor. James turned to his best friend with a more than grim look as they made their way toward the actual Charms class room..

"You need to find yourself a girl, Padfoot," James decided for Sirius, "you're spending far too much of your spare time as a voyeur and are due quite a bit of payback in the teasing department you know."

"Here, here," Remus joined from behind. Peter and Arabella weren't as successful as suppressing their disapproving looks on the subject as they were their comments. Fortunately, Sirius didn't seem to take notice at all.

"I don't think I'll give up my advantage, thank you kindly though for your concern," Sirius reported casually, still all smiles.

Turning to James, Lily had her own mocking grin to show off.

"Should be no problem for you though, James. After all, didn't you reckon you'd be flattered by all this attention?" Lily teased.

"Yes, yes, you were most right and I am most wrong," James muttered while rolling his eyes.

As soon as morning classes had finished up and the students were on break for Lunch, Remus found himself loitering midway between Gryffindor tower and the Great Hall. Arabella had scampered back to the dormitories to find a salve to put on her bruise. Remus had been asked not to accompany her for fear that Arabella would be forced to treat more marks. Left to smirk with James, Sirius, and Peter, Remus eventually found himself alone as everyone else decided to favor lunch over his company.

Brushing up on his Ancient Runes reading as he waited, Remus felt a presence lingering at his flank. Shifting his gaze, Remus saw Evan Rosier hovering a few paced off. Remus shut his book and restrained a low growl.

"Something I can assist you with, Rosier?" Remus asked shortly, vividly recalling the boy's joint comments with Tristan Travers the day before.

Rosier cleared his throat as his brown eyes shifted uncomfortably from behind his fair bangs. Watching a couple girls walk on, Rosier redirected his eyes back onto Remus.

"I just wanted to say that most of what happened on the train ride back wasn't about you or Figg," Rosier began cautiously.

"Odd, the conversation I heard would certainly beg otherwise," Remus countered with a frown, "as I recall you were pretty liberal with your low-blows."

Rosier put his hands into his pockets, evidently not sure of what else to do with them.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. Truly," Rosier expressed, staring at the tops of his shoes, "It's just Tristan has been my mate since our first day at Hogwarts and he's gotten something of a nasty style of humor over the years. He can be a decent guy on most occasions but he's been running with Slytherin on the side and it's sort of making him act . . .a bit off-color."

"It's definitely making you act out of turn as well," Remus noted.

"It's mostly for show," confessed Rosier, "I guess I just don't want my best friend to clear out on me so I try and show I can be as bad as he is. Tristan is pretty friendly with Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange and you know how they feel about you and your friends. Ever since they've been on the outs in their House he's been trying to get on their good side . . . currying favor in a way Slytherins would like. It's nothing personal, just Tristan's poor idea of sport."

"Well I take it personally," Remus informed pointedly, "I don't care how insecure you are about your friendship with Travers. Especially when you think the only way you can keep it up is at the expense of others."

Rosier backed off slightly. It was evident that Hufflepuff wasn't much for confrontation and there was a possible amount of sincerity to his words. If Remus hadn't been so tightly wound with the rapidly approaching full-moon, he might have had a bit more sympathy to offer Rosier.

However, Remus wasn't experiencing a particularly generous mood at the moment.

"I know that's why I wanted to talk to you about all this. I just wanted you and Figg to know that Tristan and I don't have anything against you and I'll try to keep him more in line rather than impress him," Rosier went on awkwardly, "I'm not saying its nice or even an excuse, but I wanted to say that. . . well that I'm sorry about it."

"I think you've said more than enough to me and Arabella," Remus replied coldly, "I'm sorry Rosier, but I need more than an off-hand apology to turn the other cheek."

Rosier nodded in response, obviously not all that surprised by Remus's lack of ready forgiveness.

"I thought those cracks about your . . . preferences would keep you cross on the subject," said Rosier with a shrug.

Remus tossed the Ancient Runes text he had still been holding onto the top of his school bag, so he could approach Rosier without anything occupying his hands. Rosier was more or less his build; a bit lanky in frame without much muscle to show for it but Remus certainly felt like he had the physical advantage.

And he was certainly feeling confrontational as he got right up into the Hufflepuff's face.

"Oh no, I have a fair sense of humor about myself and a large disinterest in public opinion," Remus corrected with a fixed stare, "but when you drag my girlfriend's good name through the mud I find myself capable of nursing a grudge for an incalculable amount of time."

Rosier and Remus stared at one another for a moment. There was something piercing and frosty in the Gryffindor's eyes that was enough to give Rosier a physical chill. The sort of eerie sensation one experiences when they realize how many lines they happened to cross in a single move with a single person.

"I see," Rosier replied awkwardly, "alright then. I think I'm going to be off then now that I've said what I have."

With a stiff wave, Rosier walked off towards the Great Hall to join the rest of the school.

"You do that," Remus encouraged, not at all put out to see the Hufflepuff go.

Feeling himself tense and agitated from the reminder of the incident on the train and the lame motivations that inspired it, Remus felt his teeth grinding on top one another as a show of his frustrations.

It was the same aggressive pull he had felt the night before during his discussion with Arabella. He had always been more irritable, more on edge nearing the full moon but lately, Remus found himself facing more difficulty in subduing the fiercer tendencies of his personality. Perhaps it was because he attempted to restrain so much of his anger all the time that Remus was finding himself more easily baited as of late.

Perhaps it was something else.

Whatever it was, Remus was seriously beginning to question if his control was threatening to slip and he was very weary of what the result of such a thing might usher in.

Just as his aggressive nature became more heightened closer to the full moon, Remus's sense became more acute.

The faint scent of Arabella's perfume wafted under his nose, alerting Remus to her presence soon approaching. As she turned the corner, Remus could spot the small spot of ink that was smudge discretely beneath her chin. If he strained, Remus was sure he might be able to hear the soft chime of the charm bracelet he gave her dangle from her wrist.

He prowled the hall, meeting her half way. Remus greeted her by leaning into the girl's radius and locking his lips to hers. He could taste the citric lingering of oranges from the juice she had consumed hours ago at breakfast. Dropping his mouth slightly, Remus flicked his tongue over the ink blotch, sharply tasting the less savory quality of that as well.

Forcing himself to end the kiss at the risk of drawing too much attention to themselves, Remus pulled away bringing his hand to Arabella's face to be sure he got the last of the stain marring it.

Her flesh felt infinitely softer. . .smoother beneath his touch.

"Sorry. . .you had something on your face," Remus breathed an apology as he kept his hand on Arabella, tempted to place the other upon her as well. Her cheeks and lips were flushed from the sudden passion of the embrace, she smiled as a show that she didn't seem to mind.

"Well, we better move along to lunch," Arabella recommended softly.

"We could . . ." Remus replied, not sounding as though he were particularly tempted by that suggested.

It sounded as though he was tempted by something else entirely.

As always, the atmosphere in Defense Against the Dark Arts was tense prior to the beginning of class. Positioning themselves on opposite sides of the classroom, the Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses attempted to ignore one another when they weren't interested in slinging insults back and forth. The sharp sound of the hinges from Professor Heilsing's office door called for the attention of the class as the formidable looking woman descended the stairs with her silver braid trailing behind her.

"Good afternoon Slytherins and Gryffindors," Professor Heilsing addressed the class as her steely eyes bore into her students as they returned the pleasantry through either sincere or feigned respect.

Her tone pierced the air like a keen knife as it always did, not for her distinct German accent but for the command that saturated her every word. As such Professor Heilsing maintained a level of respect and control over her peers that only fell short of Professor McGonagall. Pacing the room purposefully, Professor Heilsing grasped a long pointer stick as though it were her wand and she had every intention of wielding it.

"Well I certainly hope you're all well rested from your holiday because you'll be getting no breaks from here on out," Professor Heilsing informed in a matter-of-fact tone, "as you all know, the O.W.L.'s are a stone-throw away and the competition for the positions of Head Boy and Head Girl next year are looking very stiff."

Nearly all the eyes in the room rotated on Lily Evans, James Potter, Severus Snape, and Mary Tudor as both Gryffindor and Slytherin were acutely aware of how close each of their Houses were to having such prestige and sway over the rest of the school next year. Heilsing allowed thirty seconds for the class to get their supportive looks and harsh glares out of their system before she reclaimed their attention.

"If I can bring your attention to something more specific, I should mention that this year marks the end of all the theories and facts you will learn from me in the battle against the Dark Arts," Professor Heilsing announced, causing many ears to perk up.

"As most of you are aware, teaching was not my primary vocation. Before this, I worked with the Departments of Magical Law Enforcement and the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for a decade and I consider my experience with sorcerers and dark creatures to be practical . . . very hands on. I have spent six years teaching you everything I can through books and examples. It's a valuable foundation, yes, but it is nothing more than useless fluff that will shrivel and rot in your minds if it is applied to nothing. To prevent this, your 7th Year will be most certainly demanding and most likely unpleasant."

Several students shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, obviously intimidated by Heilsing's outlook on their futures in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Your 7th Year will be a practical education. I will give you an appreciation of what those who would wield dark magics are capable of with an intimacy that I expect many of you will question and be uncomfortable with. However, things are rising to considerable power that must be recognized for the threats they are as well as the grim knowledge that none of us are immune to its grasp. Still, these are things for your 7th Year. Let us now discuss what we will be studying up until the end of this term."

Abandoning the front of the classroom, Professor Heilsing began stalking along the aisle dividing the desks in the room.

"As mentioned, your education up to this point in my lessons has been entirely theory. I will ask you to devote these final months to applying all that you have learned, everything that you have comprehended into something worthwhile," Professor Heilsing observed several students begin taking note of her words with parchments and quills.

"You, with the assistance of a partner, will select a relevant and ongoing crusade against the Dark Arts, approved by me, and deeply analyze the existing protocol for it. After you have an understanding for all the procedures implemented to combat your specified threat, you will isolate and scrutinize flaws within these systems and submit a new and more effective method of handling your problem. As I am giving you several months and my precious classroom time to complete this assignment, I will have exceedingly high standards of the final product. Questions?"

"For our partners, Professor, are we allowed to select them ourselves?" Peter questioned.

"I considered assigning you to one another however since I have such demanding expectations of this project I would rather you all work with someone you think will compliment your work ethic and not be an unnecessary hindrance in the final results of your work," Heilsing replied, "you are free to work with anyone of your Year from any House as you all have the same assignment, although I would encourage you to select someone from within your own House or the one that shares your session otherwise you will be working independent of your partner every time out class meets."

"Very well, I will give you one week to submit the topic you are pursuing and a brief summery explaining why you have selected it in one week. By the first class of May, I will require a complete citation of all your existing sources as well as one foot of parchment indicating the criticisms you will be addressing and the recommendations you are considering. The final product is to be on my desk by the first week of June," Heilsing specified for the class, "for the remainder of class period you will relocate yourselves to the library to begin searching for a topic. You are dismissed."

Gathering up their supplies, the class began to partner itself off into relatively obvious pairings. Those who were already established couples such as Lily and James, Remus and Arabella, as well as Lestrange and Tudor agreed to pool their mutual resources without so much as a word to confirm it. The rest was expected to sort themselves out somewhere between the classroom and the library.

Filing out into the corridors, chatting between themselves, Severus Snape and Millicent Meeks were among the first of their peers to exit.

"I believe it would be to both our advantage if we collaborated on this assignment together," Severus recommended in his usual silky tone, "we would be assured a competent partner and I assume you are no more interested in having your marks suffer against someone else's slack than myself."

"That would be fine," Millicent's smile was a gentle as her voice.

"Hold up a minute, Snape," Sirius hollered after the Slytherin.

Severus's posture stiffened and his face sneered as he turned to face the other boy. However when he saw Sirius his expression became slightly alarmed and he grew so ridged Millicent thought his bones would crack.

"I'll meet you in the library," Severus instructed as he moved to meet Sirius. Millicent nodded awkwardly, obviously not comfortable with the idea of being caught between the usual tension Severus and Sirius's dueling presences always inspired. Wordlessly she followed the rest of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class towards the library.

"You forgot your book or whatever it is. And before you accuse me of stealing it or whatever passes for gratitude with you, I noticed it fall out from underneath your robes so you should probably check the stitch-work in your pocket lining," Sirius gruffly informed as he thrust a silver covered item in question at its owner, "out of curiosity, why does it say 'Endymion' on it?"

Wrenching the book so hard out of Sirius's grasp that he threatened to take a hand along with it, Severus burned a particularly venomous glare through Sirius.

"None. Of. Your. Business." Severus hissed in an icy tone before sweeping up the hall.

"YOU'RE WELCOME! Next time I'll just set it on fire or something else to spare us these little exchanges, hm?" Sirius's voice followed scornfully, before he turned to Winifred Wilkes who was one of the last to leave the class, "you see how he insists on being the Snape to my mongoose?"

"I don't see any halos dangling off your brow," Winifred observed, not entirely sure of what Sirius was talking about but guessed it was business as usual between him and her cousin.

Stomping around a bit but all together cooling off, Sirius walked along side Winifred as they trailed their class.

"You know, I think you and I should work together on this project," Sirius decided as he caught up to Winifred's pace.

"I would have thought you'd have pooled your efforts with Potter," Winifred stated evasively.

"James and Lily are combining their all-powerful brain power of Headboy girl hopefuls which leaves me quite eligible," Sirius explained.

"And myself entirely unimpressed," Winifred returned.

"Not even a bit?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Tragically I must decline. Traditionally I partner with Severus on these sorts of assignments," Winifred reported in her usual coy manner.

Never one to be daunted by the presence of Snape, Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on now, I'm about a billion times more fun than him and just a slot or two behind in marks," Sirius noted, "I'll be able to not only help you through our class work but we can study for our O.W.L's also."

"And considering our grades are based off academic performance rather than entertainment value, I should definitely pair up with Severus," Winifred smiled sweetly.

Sirius chuckled to himself while shaking his head.

"You're planning on making a chap beg for your company, aren't you?" Sirius guessed with amusement.

"I always do," Winifred shrugged indifferently.

"And you're boxing clever for it," Sirius nodded along, "still, I'm afraid he's taken Millicent on as a work associate this time around so it looks like you might have to settle for me."

Winifred chuckled. Flipping her dark layers over her shoulders, Winifred paused for a thought before turning to Sirius.

"Alright, I'll work with you on account of defult," Winifred agreed before adding a pout, "but you're going to cause me all sorts of trouble. Not as though I can pretend we're not associating if I'm joined at the hip with you for this assignment."

"Direct all complaints my way," Sirius instructed, "I'll handle them."

"Oh I'm sure they'll come along whether or not you're willing to accept them," Winifred stated, "looks like my in-House popularity is about to take a sharp decline."

"So if it's such a pain then why are you going to bother yourself with it?" Sirius wondered with a curious look.

"Haven't you heard? I can't be bothered with other people's opinions," Winifred smirked at the Gryffindor.

"Even your cousins?" Sirius pressed.

"I suspect he'll be a little too busy trying to topple Potter from the Headboy slot to care where I'm studying," said Winifred airily.

"Hope Snape's good at accepting utterly humiliating defeats at the wand of a loathed rival," Sirius grinned broadly.

"No, he's really not," Winifred admitted, "of course, that's to say he'll lose out to your friend."

"Oh he will, but that's really not our concern," Sirius held the door open for Winifred, allowing her to step into the Library ahead of him, "now, what were you thinking our project should be on then?"

Although the period for Heilsing's class was up, most of her students remained in the library to get a jump start on their assignment or get their nightly homework out of the way. After a repetitive amount of harsh looks and chiding remarks, Madam Prince finally demanded that the Gryffindor 6th Years scatter themselves to the four corners of her library so they would accomplish some work within it. The Slytherins jeered quietly to themselves from their own table but otherwise made no further scene.

The only parties oblivious to this minor even was Sirius Black and Winifred Wilkes who were gathering books off the shelves for their own research, Severus Snape and Millicent Meeks who were setting up a study schedule that would adequately accommodate their usual calendar, and Lestrange and Tudor who were still not speaking with most of Slytherin and were not spoken to whenever it could be helped by Gryffindor.

Sequestering themselves in a corner of the library, Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange ignored the hums of their peers milling about the shelves for books or the soft laughter of neighboring tables as their class began their prep-work for their assignment. Not particularly interested in starting right that moment, the Slytherin couple took the opportunity of their free moments to start their other class assignments while making snide comments about virtually anyone who wandered into their line of vision.

In midst of discussing how Gwen McGinnis's short height and common blood could have her easily confused for a member of the House Elf staff, Mary watched Evan Rosier and Tristan Travers approaching their table in the library, obviously intending on talking to them. Nudging her boyfriend so he'd take notice as well, Mary and Aaron typically attempted to be cordial with the two boys as they could trace pureblood several generations back and were usually inoffensive company to keep.

"Lestrange. . .Tudor. . . How are things?" Travers inquired as he sat himself opposite of the couple. Rosier claimed the seat next to his friend with a silent nod towards the Slytherin.

"Bloody wonderful, we're jumping through Heilsing's hoops so she doesn't have to be bothered with a lesson plan for the remainder of the year," Aaron muttered as he shut the book in front of him.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Travers nodded sympathetically, "you know she's just expecting us to write something she'd like since she used to work with the defense department in the Ministry of Magic. Like that's so impressive. Practically every other person is in the Ministry's employ."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Mary smirked approvingly.

She and Aaron had always maintained a casual relationship with the Hufflepuff boys and were proving to be a source of companionship while the bulk of Slytherin continued to ignore them. Knowing her House's ability to harbor a grudge, Mary expected that it would be a while yet before they gained anymore contacts than Travers and Rosier. In the meantime, Mary was making long-term plans concerning the pair. Both managed respectable marks and she suspected that a usefulness could be found in Traver's eagerness to gain their favor and Rosier's willingness to conform along with this.

"So, the rest of your House still giving you the silent treatment?" Travers questioned with all the tact Mary and Aaron would expect of a Hufflepuff.

"By and large, yes," Aaron chose to answer Travers rather than comment.

"Pity," Travers frowned to show his distaste, "can't imagine Slytherin is in proper working order if they're content to let Snape and Wilkes bossing them about."

"Most certainly not," Mary agreed bitterly, "but the more things change the more they stay the same."

"Sounds like you're plotting something," Rosier spoke up from his corner of the table.

"I'm always plotting something," Mary reported, "especially after such an . . . embarrassing turn of events."

"You shouldn't feel bad about that," Travers insisted.

"Oh, I wasn't referring to myself," Mary corrected darkly, "It's Slytherin that should be ashamed. Severus and his acquired taste of mudblood Gryffindors couples with Winifred's utter apathy towards aspiring to becoming anything more than a shadow will run our House into the ground if they're keeping the order."

Aaron took his girlfriend's hand and began to absently stroke the top of it in soothing motions.

"Don't let it concern you, my dear," Aaron interjected softly, "things always have a way of turning about."

Travers smiled while listening. Glancing quickly around them, he leaned in closer to the Slytherins.

"I might be able to lend a hand in all that . . . if you're interested," Travers extended smoothly, keeping his voice low so as not to risk their conversation carrying to unwelcome ears.

Mary and Aaron exchanged meaningful looks before redirecting their attention back onto the Hufflepuff, leaning in close as well to avoid attention.

"That all depends on what you're offering to us," Aaron negotiated, equally casual, "and what you're asking for in return."

"I can offer you information that will destroy his chances at becoming Head boy. He probably won't even be kept on as a Prefect with this little bit of news," Travers tempted vaguely, not willing to give up his trump cards straight away.

"And Winifred?" asked Mary with interest.

"Just a little something I can get my hands on that will have Wilkes in your pocket from now until well after graduation," Travers hinted.

Mary and Aaron looked at one another once more, apparently coming to some sort of silent agreement before they turned back to Travers.

"I'm curious, why don't you use this information yourself?" Aaron raised his eyebrow, "You could try to blackmail either of them yourselves."

"Slytherin's have a knack for these sort of dealings," Rosier commented knowingly.

"More importantly, we think that this would be more valuable in your hands than in ours," Travers went on, "and it also makes a nice gesture of good will."

"And how much will this gesture be worth?" Aaron negotiated.

"Nothing you can't arrange for," Travers assured with a friendly demeanor, "all I'm asking for is that you remember who your friends are when you get back on top of things in Slytherin and there's also something that would make Evan happy."

"Tristan . . .don't. . ." Rosier turned to his friend with a half glare, half plea.

Travers studied Rosier with a surprised look before softening up and tossing him an encouraging look.

"Don't be like that, mate." Tristan patted his friend on the back, "I'm just looking out for you, is all. Tired of seeing you mope about and you're too shy to do anything about it."

"What does he want?" Mary was obviously intrigued, although whether it was by Rosier's reluctance or Traver's information was entirely uncertain.

"He fancies Wilkes, has for a bit now but refuses to do a thing about it" Travers explained, causing Rosier to groan and scowl off to the side, "our problem is, if you bloody her up beyond repair in some intricate revenge, it doesn't do my boy here much good and I'll have spent two years having an earache for nothing. You understand our position in all this."

"I doubt we can come to an arrangement," Aaron replied in a very business like air. His expression was sour and cast in stone, "Wilkes humiliated Mary with her cousin and I'll be damned if I let her get off free and clear if I have the option of watching her hang."

Travers appeared slightly taken aback by Aaron's reluctance while Rosier dawned a new grim sort of look. Mary turned to her boyfriend, smiling sweetly as she placed a hand to his face to coax him into looking at her.

"You're always so protective of me, darling. It's why I love you so," Mary smiled as she stroked his cheek affectionately, "but it's alright, Aaron, I'll be just as content to own Winifred as I would be to destroy her."

An evident amount of disappointment appeared on Aaron's face but he made no verbal announcement of it. Nodding, he patted Mary's hand before looking back at Travers.

"Fine then, you'll have your end of things on our pureblooded words," Aaron committed himself and Mary to Tristan's proposition, "now, what exactly do you have on Snape and Wilkes?"

"Not here," Travers shook his head, "I don't want someone to overhear this and either beat you to the punch or tip them off. Meet us out by the greenhouses tonight half an hour before curfew. You'll get everything I promised to you then. Alright?"

Aaron turned his stormy colored eyes onto Mary, not wanting to agree to anything without first knowing her position on things. Her cold eyes shinning with dark amusement, Mary stared hard at Travers.

"That will be just fine," Mary decided with a small smile, "of course I have to wonder how you two managed to out finesse all of Slytherin in finding something exploitable about the black sheep of the House."

Rosier shrugged but looked a little bit satisfied with himself in spite of his distance from the conversation. Travers was far less modest about his recent acquisition and the arrangement it earned him.

"That's just us hardworking Hufflepuff boys for you," Travers matched the wicked grin, "getting our hands dirty so you don't have to."

Offering a brief knock and waiting for an invitation in, Lily stepped into the 6th Year girls' dorm only to find Cassidy and her Muggle Studies book resting on her bed. Everything was as Lily had been so familiar with when she had lived there. The polished four post beds, red tapestries against handsome stone was all the same except Lily noticed that the bed she had used prior to her being appointed to Prefect was now a communal resting place for the undetermined amount of cats Arabella kept. Cassidy must have noticed Lily's writhing eyebrow in response to the virtual overrunning of her former side of the room because the tall, black girl had a smirk quickly developing over her face.

"Bet yer loving that single room now aren't ye?" Cassidy wagered with a chuckle.

Lily only shook her head in reply.

"I came here to see if you knew where James was. He disappeared after supper and no one's seen him," Lily explained as she noticed how empty the room happened to be, "is he off with the other girls?"

"No. Millicent's off with Snape getting a jump start on their project, I think Arabella and Remus might be passing themselves off fer being productive somewhere about, and Gwen has been getting along pretty well with the Weaver girl in Ravenclaw. They have a few things in common considering they're both Scottish, muggle borns so they've been chatting a bit since Sirius's bash," Cassidy reported, "what do ye need them fer?"

"Nothing in particular, I was just curious," Lily shrugged as she stepped into the room, "feeling confident about the upcoming match?

"Always," Cassidy smirked as she tossed her book off to the side, "of course, I wish I was feeling as confident about the other things in my life at the moment."

"Anything the matter?" Lily asked with concern.

"No, nothing really," Cassidy shook her head with a sign, "I mean, it's the usual. Got O.W.L's on my mind amongst other things."

"What sort of things?" Lily pressed as she played the part of the good and intrusive friend. Cassidy released another, more reluctant sigh as she eyed Lily with a look of debate.

"I'm not sure if ye want teh really hear," Cassidy warned.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't," Lily smiled encouragingly.

Tugging on her ponytail in an almost nervous gesture, Cassidy chewed her bottom lip before looking at Lily with an embarrassed look.

"I think. . .I might fancy some one a bit," confessed Cassidy. The words came slowly from her mouth like honey rolling off a spoon, "and I'm not all that sure what teh do about it since I've never really been interested in anyone anymore than in a casual sort of way."

Lily couldn't help but smile a bit.

"You make it sound like it's a problem," Lily noted.

Cassidy rolled off her bed so she could cross her arms with an expression of indignation properly.

"Of course, it's a problem, ye wonky redhead," Cassidy informed defensively, "it's not the same run around every other daffy lass has teh go through where their only concern is whether or not some thick lad has eyes fer them. Mines far more complicated."

Lily nodded in appreciation for Cassidy's situation but still retained her grin.

"I know your position is a little less conventional than most others, Cassidy, but EVERYONE thinks there love-life is more complicated than everybody else," said Lily gently.

"Yeah, well I think I may have a leg teh stand on in this argument," muttered Cassidy.

"Maybe just a bit," Lily relented sympathetically, "so who's the potentially lucky girl?"

Another hesitant expression enveloped Cassidy's mocha features.

"Come on, Cassidy, it's cruel to bait me like this if you're not going to tell me who it is!" Lily teased as she approached her friend, "at the very least I'd like to be supportive of you through this if you want to pursue it."

"I fancy Wilkes," confessed Cassidy.

"Oh," Lily replied, not sure if she should have expected this or if it was alright to be slightly surprised, "If I may, why?"

"I don't know, I think she's funny and pretty off the top of my head," Cassidy shrugged, "she seems wicked enough teh not get bent out of shape fer everything I say but I also think she's a decent person underneath it all because of what she did fer Gwen and Millie back at Hogsmeade and the fact she's willing teh hang about a bunch of Gryffindors and Muggle borns in spite of her being Slytherin. Those things sort of say something about a person."

Lily felt as though she needed to sit down as she lowered herself onto Cassidy's bed. She was beginning to think that Cassidy had been on the ball when she insisted that her situation was a complicated one.

"Well, I guess the only other question is do you think she is . . . um . . . possibly interested?" Lily questioned, hoping Cassidy may have some basis to support her feelings. Wilkes seemed all right enough to casually socialize with but Lily had little idea about the girls preferences in dating, let alone her opinions of those who deviated from the norm. The last thing Lily wanted was to have Cassidy's personal life callously exposed by someone who found a twisted amusement in that sort of thing.

"Now that I don't know," Cassidy replied glumly, "I don't really see her being all that interested in guys usually, bit of a loner. She seems teh blow then off a lot, so that might mean something. That and I hear Slytherins can be pretty liberal on who's sharing a bed with them. And yeh know how I got those flowers fer valentines? Well, apparently Wilkes has this thing about sending flowers the people because plants have some sort of meaning they're supposed teh have."

"Still, she has been spending a lot of time with Sirius," Lily pointed out. Catching Cassidy's discouraged expression, Lily quickly added, "that's not to say you're wrong, Cassidy, it's just I don't want you to get hurt if it's not worth it. It's possible that Wilkes is . . . um . . . liberal and her and Sirius don't seem to be anything more than friends. I just think you need a little bit more to base this upon than speculations and interhouse rumors."

"Yer right," Cassidy nodded thoughtfully, before turning her eyes on Lily. Dawning a slightly embarrassed expression, Cassidy shifted awkwardly, "do ye think ye could, I don't know, investigate this a bit fer me?"

"Pardon?" Lily dumbly responded. It wasn't that she wasn't willing to help out her friend, but she was wondering why Cassidy thought she was the person to send on this fact-finding mission.

"Well, the only people who know about me are ye and James and I don't really want teh send him off and running on this. Yer smart and perceptive and popular so maybe if ye hint around ye might find something I won't. That and yer friends with her cousin so maybe ye can get something off Snape," rationalized Cassidy.

Lily wasn't too certain how friendly she was with Severus Snape these days and, even if she was sure, knew he wasn't the type to allow information to casually slip. As for asking about on the topic of Winifred Wilkes's preferences in dating, Lily was worried that she would inspire gossip for either Winifred's or her own reputation with that kind of questions.

Still, Cassidy was her friend. . .

"I'll see if I can find out anything," Lily agreed hesitantly, unsure of how she was supposed to manage this, "but I think we need to see what Sirius's intentions are as well. If he's more than casually interested in Winifred then things could get rather tense on the subject."

"Yeah, I don't want to be fighting with Sirius over a girl suave prat he is," Cassidy admitted before dawning a teasing grin, "Of course he lost out teh Potter when he had his eye on ye."

"You make it sound as though I were some trophy," Lily remarked dryly.

"Well yer all pretty and shinny," Cassidy laughed.

"Yes. . . lovely sentiments," Lily rolled her eyes with a smile.

"If yer looking fer Potter, sometimes he hangs out by the Pitch," Cassidy revealed, "it's a place for him teh be on his own since he's one of the few people with keys teh it."

"Thanks Cassidy," said Lily as she made her way out of the room.

Cassidy watched Lily leave before retuning to her book.

"No sense in both of us being alone . . ." Cassidy spoke to herself.

E How was work today, if I may inquire?

S Another day, another pile of paperwork that requires my pretty handwriting. First day back at classes today, how did they go?

E To say they were unimpressive would be generous. I find this institute more dull with each passing day I am forced to attended it. I can almost understand why people like your brother and Potter feel the need to lash out. Anyone with better than average intelligence is bound to recognize that there is precious little left to learn within these walls.

S You're only young once.

E I never was young.

S We all squander perfectly good opportunities.

E Like marriage proposals from Malfoys?

S He neither proposed nor was it perfect or good. Why are you bringing this up?

E I'm not certain.

S You shouldn't concern yourself about it. I don't.

E You must be very confident in yourself to be so dismissive of families like the Malfoys. I imagine they do not take spurning very lightly.

S I suppose the same comment could be applied to you. I very much doubt you'll be making any friends with Lucius as things are now.

E I can afford to hide behind my mother for another year or so.

S I wise plan. Your mother is a frightening woman.

E Apparently not frightening enough it would seem. . .you know she will make it her personal crusade to destroy you if this got back to her.

S Seems to be a common concern in this situation doesn't it? Are you having second thoughts?

E No. I'm completely satisfied.

S Are you being sarcastic? It's a little hard to infer from writing sometimes.

E I'm being sincere. I don't care about what people thing and can even handle an witch as intimidating as my mother in my own ways. Still, you have more at risk in this situation than I. Unfortunately the vast majority of the world would like to assume I'm completely ignorant of everything transpiring, bewitched and enthralled under your feminine guiles.

S I am the siren luring men upon my rocky shores.

E Now I'll assume you're being sarcastic.

S That or I'll have to invest in some rocky shores. . .

E You're remarkably stoic. It's as though nothing a of this world intimidates you. I don't know whether to be impressed with you or deeply concerned.

S I seemed to get along just fine before you started worrying about me, I think I'll be fine now.

E Is that a hint?

S You're so sensitive.

E I'll assume no then. My partner for a project has arrived. I need to conclude this conversation.

S I understand. Good luck.

E Thank you, but I won't require any since she's actually on of my few competent peers.

S 'She?'

E Now who's being sensitive?

S I suppose I can trust you just this once.

E I'll write you again before midnight.

S Alright. Goodbye then until later.

Shutting the journal, Severus placed it within the inner pocket of his robes before Millicent Meeks had completely reached his table within the library.

"Good evening," Millicent greeted as she seated herself across from Severus and began to arrange the contents of her bag on top of the table between them.

"Good evening," Severus returned with a nod as he reached for one of the books he had taken the liberty of pulling from the shelves earlier in the evening, "I'm assuming you're still content on project critiquing the classification of dark potions and their ingredients and the Ministries protocol for containment and use?"

"That's more than fine," Millicent smiled supportively.

Severus gestured absently towards the stack of books neighboring him.

"These are so secondary sources I've managed to acquire from the school library. I have a few more within my personal collection and will request my parents to obtain some primary references in the morning. In the meantime, I believe these tomes will provide a more than adequate basis for our proposal," Severus drawled as he thumbed the index of the book before him.

He didn't bother looking up because he knew he didn't need to monitor Millicent's contribution to their assignment. She held the 4th highest position for Marks in their Year and the 7th highest out of all the school. Entirely dependable and seemingly content with near any arrangements, Severus knew that he would be expected to make grate accommodations for Millicent's partnership anymore than he would have to carry her through the workload.

"I took the liberty of holding preliminary meetings with Professor Brewsteem to discuss her knowledge of dark potion ingredients and how they are to be managed after supper . . .before I came to meet you here," Millicent reported as she produced a section of parchment, "I made a list of anything she said that sounded interesting and she was kind enough to provide a list for us to cross-reference with our project. I intend to meet with Professor Sprout to discuss both magical and non-magical plant components that might be used in such potion work as well as Professor Heilsing since she might be able to offer some unique insights considering her prior occupation."

Severus nodded approvingly, content to see that their working relationship was progressing as he had anticipated it would.

"Impressively thorough, Miss Meeks," Severus praised, causing Millicent to blush as she appeared to have a habit of doing whenever anyone took notice of her presence.

"Well I was simply following your lead," Millicent modestly deflected, "I also would like to be helpful considering you asked me to be your partner."

"I find you to be a capable and trustworthy associate," said Severus simply.

"Still, you are under consideration for Headboy and I'd like to make sure you won't become too distracted because of all this extra work," Millicent nodded with her usually pleasant smile.

"Your concern is appreciated," Severus replied, "may I inspect Professor Brewsteem's notes for myself? I'm interested to see if she bothered to be anymore comprehensive than she cares to be in her mediocre excuses for lectures."

Millicent's smile grew slightly awkward, as it tended to whenever she listened to other people's insults. While few ever bothered to ridicule the soft-spoken Gryffindor or her inoffensive presence, Millicent always seemed uncomfortable when conversations turned negative. Just as she never spoke ill of anyone, Millicent said nothing to correct Severus's comment on their professor as she passed him the folds of parchment.

"Um. . . certainly," Millicent offered before pulling a book to her, "I believe I'll make sure our Professor was careful to mention all the potions each ingredient is applicable to."

Severus said nothing but nodded as he studied Brewsteem's list. As he had expected, the woman only bothered to list commonly known dark potions, most of which were mild poisons and other elementary concoctions that amused unimaginative malcontents. Certain he would disregard Brewsteem's interview entirely as a source, Severus decided to glance over the notes Millicent had taken just to be sure that the doddering potions mistress didn't actually possess some wisdom when speaking to his partner.

Staring at the composition of elegant, looping strokes, Severus noticed a familiarity to Millicent's handwriting that he had never been aware of before.

It was the same as his anonymous letter from Valentines Day.

The letter and mystery he had all but abandoned in light of his recent preoccupation inspired by his House's infighting and liaisons with Aurora Black.

Having difficulties processing the idea that Millicent Meeks had any sort of sincere feelings for him, Severus was pulled his eyes off the timid Gryffindor's writing to steal an inspective look of her. She was busy with a chart but, aware of his eyes, glanced up to smile politely before returning to her work. Severus numbly returned his eyes to the notes before him so as not to provoke any awkward questions on the girl's part.

Grappling with the idea that the shy and gentle Millicent Meeks who seemed far more suited for Ravenclaw than the brash crowd within Gryffindor, the sort of girl everyone liked or respected just a little bit, was some how fond of him, Severus folded up the noted to compare them carefully against the letter he had received which was secured safely in his room.

Attempting to occupy his thought on something constructive, Severus was as unsure of how to handle this situation as he was on how he should feel about it.

"So here's where you've hidden yourself after dinner," Lily called out across the Quidditch Pitch as she finally found her boyfriend, "I thought I was going to have use a location charm to find you."

James was seated in the center with his school bag and all his books positioned carefully around him. The silvery light of the moon washed the field but James had summoned a few additional orbs to dance around a provide some additional illumination. It appeared as though James was binge-studying all his lessons at once, shifting his head like a pendulum between two books. He as so absorbed in his work, Lily wasn't entirely certain that he had heard her speak to him let alone notice when she was right upon him.

"James, what are you doing?" Lily questioned.

"Hmm?" James paused long enough to glance quickly to at Lily before resuming his work, "Oh, yes, I'm just gearing up for O.W.L.'s. Professor Heilsing reminded me of how I can't afford to slip up even a bit on my marks if I want to earn Headboy. Not with Snape being right along side. And you know he's not going to let up a bit."

"I hope this doesn't become a new vicious rivalry with Slytherin, usually things settle down a bit after we play them in Quidditch," Lily frowned, "why are you studying out here?"

"Because I doubt there's a single quiet space elsewhere in the castle," James shrugged, still dividing his attention between the various subjects.

Lily watched James thoughtfully. She had never seen James embed himself so deeply into his studies before. James was brilliant and did take his classes seriously, but Lily had always thought James was the type that just absorbed knowledge through osmosis or something of the like. Studying was almost a waste of his time in most cases once he had listened to a few lectures on a theory and read up on it in a text.

This made Lily wonder why James was so content to waste his time.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit?" Lily observed gently, "after all, we have two months before any really pressure is on us and Headboys are chosen not only for their marks but how well they carry on with their peers and handle responsibility. I think you don't need to become quite so invested just yet, James."

"Never thought I'd hear you advising me to slack off," James chuckled still reading.

"I just thought you'd be running the team into the ground with Quidditch," Lily commented.

"I will be tomorrow and many days after that. I just wanted everyone to have a chance to get back into the swing before I make them demons on broomsticks," James rationalized, "in the meantime, I'll get a jumpstart on my lessons since Heilsing's assignment will pick up soon and I imagine the other Professors will have their own pet projects to toss on the heap."

"It sounds like you're planning on keeping yourself pretty busy," Lily noticed form the timetable James was outlining for himself.

"It appears that way," James nodded over his book.

"Would you like me to keep you company then?" Lily offered while lowering herself to the ground.

"Actually, I think I need to just be on my own for a bit," James requested softly, "I'll visit with you before lights out. Right now, I just need to finish looking over this."

Lily reversed her motion so she was fully upright once more. Her green eyes fell upon James with obvious concern.

"Okay," Lily agreed, straining to keep her voice casual, "I guess I'll see you then."

Making her way off the Pitch, Lily dared a glance over her shoulder.

"Something's not bothering you, is it James?" Lily questioned.

James turned to Lily, forcing a smile onto his lips.

"What could possibly be wrong?" James asked back.

"I wouldn't know," Lily shook her head, "you just don't seem your usual self."

"Maybe it's just and off-color time of year," James offered before returning to his books without another word.

Lily took this as her hint to leave James be.

It was half past eight when Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange found their way out to the Castle greenhouses. They anticipated that Travers and Rosier most likely intended to show earlier than nine and since Mary and Aaron were fond of keeping the quaffle in their pitch the couple made it a point to be the earliest to arrive.

It was just good business.

"Do you think we can trust Travers and Rosier?" Aaron questioned in a low voice, not wanting to risk being caught by Filch or Professor Sprout and then having to explain their presence within the Greenhouse. The air was muggy and thick with numerous fragrances. Aaron was tempted to loosen his tie in reaction to the humidity but would rather be stifled than ill-groomed.

"I think we can trust them not to set us up," Mary said softy, "of course I suppose the real question is if they have anything worth selling to us."

"Hufflepuffs have been known to exaggerate," Aaron nodded as he brushed a curl of bang back into place, "I'll be impressed if these boys come out to be half as clever as they think themselves to be. Traditionally the only thing more dense and useless than a Hufflepuff is a Mudblood. Merlin help the pathetic waste if they happen to be a Mudblood Hufflepuff."

"I don't know," Mary drawled lost in thought, "I think there's something interesting about those two. Travers has enough ambition to make him productive but knows his place enough not to exceed his station faster than he's earned. Probably the only reason he wasn't sorted into Slytherin, that sense of camaraderie."

"What about Rosier?" asked Aaron.

"He seems content to allow Travers to twist his arm so hard you can practically hear the snap," Mary shrugged.

Aaron frowned as he went on to inspecting his fingernails to be sure that they were even in length and well-manicured.

"That certainly doesn't offer me much confidence in him," Aaron confessed, "for all we know he's too weak stomached to handle anything too trying or he'll turn on us the first time it suits him."

Mary smiled affectionately as she pat Aaron on the back.

"Rosier's a follower through and through. His type are easy to recognize because you can see the utter lack of fight behind his eyes. He'll fall in line and soon will be having as much fun with it as the rest of us are," said Mary confidently, "he and Winifred would make a splendid, spineless pair of shadows . . . assuming he provides me with enough incentive not to turn her hollow little head into a conversation piece."

Aware of some approaching footsteps, Mary and Aaron stepped off to the side and watched from behind a support beam to see who was entering the greenhouse. Catching a glimpse of Travers and Rosier walking amidst the flowerbeds, the two Slytherin's stepped out to greet their host.

"I hope you don't mind that we're a bit early, but you'll understand if we were a tad eager from your teasing conversation earlier on," Mary broke the silence with her husky voice.

She smiled with satisfaction as she watched Rosier and Travers jump at the sound of it. Recovering his composure as quickly as he could manage, Travers nudged Rosier to follow as he approached the other two occupants of the greenhouse.

"Not at all," Travers smiled, "in fact, I very much doubt you'll mind if we skip the usual pleasantries and I just give you everything you'll ever need to keep a tight leash on Winifred Wilkes.

Reaching into his cloak, Travers produced a thin book and passed it into Mary's hands. The cover was a dark leather with peculiar patters on it. Papyrus pages were sandwiched between them with the edges slightly damp and muddy.

"Her diary," Travers reported, "I found it in here just before spring holiday. Apparently Wilkes hid it by the roots of a particularly wicked breed of plant that doesn't like to be replanted. Not a bad location for safe keeping since Evan nearly lost his doing it."

"Last time I offer to get extra points for Hufflepuff by surprising Professor Sprout with some gardening," Rosier rolled his eyes.

"It's certainly worth a few scrapes and bite marks in hindsight though, right mate?" Travers pointed out before returning his eyes to the Slytherins.

"It's blank," Mary observed in disappointment and anger as she flipped through it.

"That's what we had assumed initially but it turns out that it's enchanted," Rosier corrected, "everything in it is kept under lock and key by Winifred's persona so you'll have to convince her into giving up the information. I was lucky she'd even tell me that her name was Winifred so we could figure out who it belonged to."

"She's bound to notice that it's gone missing," Aaron warned.

"Let her notice. . . let her wonder . . . let her worry," Mary breathed as she grinned over the possibilities, "do you know what secrets this book may hold? Not only about Winifred, but Severus, his family, maybe even half the school knowing how much snooping that girl does about Hogwarts. This could be everything you've wanted to know about all the things people never wanted to be known."

"Provided we can get it talking," Aaron frowned before turning to Travers, "this book doesn't have all that much sway over Wilkes if we can't figure out a way around its defenses."

"Already thought of that," Travers assured with a smug grin, "my brother works in the ministry classifying sentient books. He told me that enchanted diaries are rare and very well-guarded because it's like the author himself is living in the pages. If you know the author's personality well enough you might be able to find a way into convincing it to tell you things. If that doesn't work, my brother told me to start doing damage to the book, it's like physical torture. Of course that's going to piss it off a whole lot and you might not catch as many flies as you would have with honey."

"What assurances do we have that the book won't lie?" Mary questioned.

"It's can't. The book can only say what's been written in it. It can omit passages, yes, but unless it's a book of lies you're assured at least some half truths," Travers assured.

"Not as though I can't see though Winifred's usual smoke and mirrors," Mary shrugged before smiling to Aaron, "I think I'm about to have my spirits rather lifted."

"That's marvelous news, precious," Aaron murmured, before turning to Travers, "now, what about Snape?"

Travers turned to Rosier with an expectant look. As though acting on cue, Rosier pushed himself off from the flowerbed he had been resting against and addressed the pair of Slytherin.

"A 2nd Year in our House was in the Hospital Wing in late January being treated for appendicitis. Madam Pomfrey had left him to make a quick stop over to Professor Brewsteem for some primrose thorns to add to the his medicine when he overheard a conversation between Snape and Serpen Nott," Rosier explained.

A look of extreme interest was embedded upon both Mary and Aaron's faces as they waited for Rosier to continue. Travers smiled to himself with a continual amount of satisfaction and confidence.

"Wilkes, apparently, had convinced Snape that she pushed Nott down the stairs but Nott refuted it. We don't know who actually sent Nott on his tumble, but the thing worth mentioning in all this is Snape threatened Nott into passing it off as an accident, which, as we all can guess would be a gross undermining of his duties as a Prefect," Rosier finished.

"Well isn't that interesting," Aaron commented with a nasty grin seizing his lips, "I'm sure we can twist Nott's arm enough into confessing the whole thing. He probably wants Snape out as Prefect as much we do. All the boy needs is a proper nudge and he'll be singing the song that will get Snape sacked in no time."

"Severus has been a naughty boy," Mary smiled contently as she turned her cold eyes on Travers and Rosier, "you gentleman, on the other had, are proving yourselves to be wizards worth keeping on good terms with."

"Just keeping good to our words," Travers rationalized professionally.

Travers gave an encouraging nod over towards Rosier. Both appeared to be more than happy with the way their little arrangement had panned out.

"Don't worry. We'll keep up ours," Mary assured, "you boys have earned yourselves high marks with us this evening and as a show of good faith I'll pass along any information that might be useful to you Rosier once I crack open Winifred's diary. Perhaps there's something she mentions in here that can help you dance your way into her fancies."

Rosier crossed his arms and attempted to keep his expression as blank as he could manage so as not to show the Slytherin's just how tempted he was.

"If you happen across something, I'd appreciate it," Rosier admitted in a casual tone.

"Of course. Friends do favors for other friends," said Mary.

"Anymore favors you can think of?" Travers questioned.

Aaron's face lit up as though he had been waiting for someone to ask that all evening long.

"Let's see what we can do about Potter and Evans," Aaron decided.

Travers glanced to Rosier. Neither of them had a particular problem with either James Potter or Lily Evans. In fact, aside from certain people in Slytherin, most of the school either really liked or were respectfully indifferent of the golden pair of Gryffindor. Travers wasn't sure how keen on this new development Rosier would be but found himself somewhat intrigued by the challenge of bringing down the two.

Exposing Wilkes and Snape had been relatively simple. After all, it was obvious they both had skeletons in their closet, the only hard part was finding out where the closets were. With Potter and Evans, Travers didn't know if either had any exploitable weaknesses but they would be most interesting to find. . .

. . . or invent.

"Yes, let's see what we can do," Travers smirked.


	33. Fractured Words

Fractured Words

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta By: jkit10

At ten o'clock curfew was called for students to all return to their House dormitories. At eleven, students were expected to be in their bedrooms, readying themselves for bed. By twelve most Heads of House insisted that students have themselves settled in for the night.

It was eleven - fifty when Lily started to shoo the Gryffindors settled within the House commons up towards their respective dorms. Deflecting the minor protests thrown her way, Lily watched her housemates file upstairs before noticing James was still entirely settled at one of the long wooden study tables off to the side. Taking long strides over to her boyfriend, Lily stood peering over his shoulder. James was so entranced by what appeared to be Arithmancy charts that he didn't even comment on her presence.

"Alright Mr. Potter, up to bed with you," Lily said in a light tone, "can't have you falling asleep at your lessons tomorrow can we?"

"Can't have me fall behind on them either," James retuned stealing a glance and a quick peck on the cheek.

For the past few days that seemed to be the most affection James was willing to offer Lily's way. She swore she saw more gestures of fondness from James when they were simply carrying on as friends.

"I don't see how you can be worried about that considering all I see you do is study lately," Lily noted.

"Don't know why you're complaining," James shrugged, "at least no one can say you're dating anything short of a top-notch wizard who happens to be well informed on a great many things."

Ever since she had found him studying on the pitch, James had been throwing himself headlong into his homework as well as additional practice for their classes. He kept at least one text on his person at all times so he could be looking over something when walking through corridors or even sitting down to meals. It was begging to frustrate Lily since every spare moment James had seemed to be devoted to burying his nose in a book.

Even she spent less time studying and she was up for Headgirl just as he was for Headboy.

"Is there something in specific you're looking for James?" asked Lily, "what I mean to say are you researching something?"

"Nothing so interesting, luv," James divulged as he turned a page.

"So you're just studying for the sake of studying," Lily attempted to clarify.

"Well it's not like it's all that fun," James corrected, "but it's just one of those things that needs to be done."

"I see," Lily began to rethink her strategy.

It seemed that she was always coming across James as he was in the middle of reading one thing or taking notes on another. She didn't want to distract him from his school work but she would like to have some times spent with her boyfriend that wasn't centered around completing Professor Heilsing's assignment or participating in some study group.

"How about tomorrow you take a break from all the book work and we do something together? It doesn't have to be anything too grand since you're probably worn between studying and quidditch practice. I was thinking a walk around the lake or maybe just a cozy evening by the fire," Lily suggested.

If James was committed to studying, she didn't want to hinder him on his efforts by constantly interrupting him so she figured it was more than fair to ask him to set some time aside to seeing her away from an academic pretense.

"I can't. I'll be out at Hogsmeade with the rest of the boys. You know, for Remus," James reported, applying fresh ink to his quill tip.

"Oh that's right," Lily nodded, hoping her disappointment wasn't all that evident in her voice.

"We'll work something out when I get back," James promised in a distracted voice.

Lily felt like her heart was a stone in a pond.

"Okay," Lily agreed reluctantly, "well, don't stay up too late. You know Professor McGonagall doesn't really want us up past midnight unless it's right before finals."

"I know, goodnight Lily," James sent her off.

"Goodnight James," Lily returned as she walked towards the stairs, stopping at the foot of them.

"James. . . you're not avoiding me are you?"

James stopped writing briefly as he turned his eyes on Lily from across the room.

"No, that's not it. . . I've just been busy," James insisted.

"But I don't understand why you're suddenly so preoccupied with a million things," Lily sighed, "I also don't understand why I'm not one of them."

"You are, Lily," James assured, breathing his own sigh and pushing his weary hands through his hair, "I just have things on my mind."

"What sorts of things?" Lily pressed. "If something's troubling you, I'd like to try and help."

"I'm fine," James replied as he retuned to his quillwork, "it's nothing to concern yourself with. I'm just dealing with some things that suddenly came up. The sort of things you can really only see to properly yourself."

"What does that mean?" Lily questioned aloud.

"It means sweet dreams Lily, I'll see you in the morning," James opened another book and traced his vision across the page.

Not knowing what else to say, Lily turned around and climbed the steps before her as though her shoes were made of lead.

Rejection.

Lily felt its cold and bitter presence sting her as she from troubled thoughts and into restless dreams.

One Week Later

During a mid-April morning, low fog clung around the knees of the 6th Year Care for Magical Creatures lesson as their class convened near the edge of the Forbidden Forest just off from the school stables. Once Professor Kettleburn arrived, the students finished their series of stretches and yawns as they internally steeled themselves for whatever their lesson would entail that day.

"Okay we're going to deviate from the lesson plan I originally had intended for today on account of an unanticipated threat to the school's ecosphere," Professor Kettleburn announced to the 6th Year class, "now a nest of Ersatz Dragons have hatched in that brush of tall grass over by the Dark Forest. Since this is a bit of an odd creature and a bit obscure to our lessons I think I'll award House points to people who can offer up some information on them. Which of you can tell me where the Ersatz Dragons are native too?"

Kettleburn nodded to Bronwyn Weaver, one of the few Ravenclaws present in the class, who was standing next to Gwen McGinnis with her hand poised.

"Ersatz Dragons are indigenous to the Germanic regions," said Bronwyn promptly. Gwen smiled encouragingly at Bronwyn, obviously impressed she knew the answer.

"Excellent, five points for Ravenclaw," said Professor Kettleburn, "and who can tell me something interesting about the classification of Ersatz Dragons as well as what they look like? Mr. Macnair?"

Walden Macnair lowered his hand and looked over his peers with a smug and gruff expression. Although he held miserable marks in virtually all his other classes, Macnair appeared to have something of an aptitude for remembering facts about magical animals. He joined Winifred Wilkes, Hekate Undercross, and Florence Copia as the only Slytherin in their Year who enrolled in the class. Mostly on account of its tendency to attract Muggle born students to which Copia and Wilkes were indifferent to and Undercross and Macnair were more than capable of bullying.

"Ersatz Dragons aren't dragons at all," said Macnair with a superior expression, "They're not large enough to qualify as a dragon since the biggest they can get to be is about six feel long and a foot and a half wide and lack appendages other than a set of wings. Also they can't use wings for flying, only gliding."

"Well done, Macnair! Five points to Slytherin. How many eggs are usually in a clutch? Travers?"

"Um, five?" Travers said, obviously guessing.

"Three to five, so partial credit to Hufflepuff with three points," Professor Kettleburn bartered reasonably, "now, we need to round them all up before they shed their first skins. Can anyone tell me why? Mr. Lupin?"

"About a week after hatching the Ersatz shed their skin and are then capable of emitting small puffs of fire from their mouths," replied Remus, "if they're living in a collection of tall grass neighboring the Forbidden Forest they could set the whole area ablaze just by being here."

A low murmur of chatter rose amongst the 6th Years at the thought of such a possibility.

"Right you are, five points to Gryffindor," agreed Kettleburn before he resumed his lecture, "now, I'm going to have half of you wade into the brush over there and flush out the Ersatz Dragons while the other half of you fan out, forming a perimeter so you can stun them when they come darting out."

The class exchanged uncomfortable looks between themselves and in the direction of the tall grass. No one appeared to be all that fond of the idea of walking in waste high grass while being blind to pesky serpents nipping at their feet or jumping out at them from the sides. Raising her hand, Arabella waved for Professor Kettleburn's attention.

"Excuse me, but do these creatures bite?" Arabella inquired.

"Oh ABSOLUTELY. I imagine they will be doing a lot of it since they don't have any jets of fire to rely upon yet," Professor Kettleburn confirmed causing many of his students to pale, "it would probably be best for you girls to stay out of the grass since you're all bare-legged in those skirts of yours. Atleast the Ersatz have to chew through a little fabric to get at the boys with their uniforms."

No one appeared to be particularly comforted by this currently working plan. Wide-eyed, Arbella raised her hand again.

"Pardon Professor, what size are they typically?" demanded Arabella in a progressively rising pitch. Remus placed a hand on Arabella's shoulder to serve as a consoling gesture. It was uncertain as to whether it was for his benefit or hers. Professor Kettleburn pondered Arabella's question thoughtfully.

"How big would you guess an Ersatz Dragon would be after hatching, Mr. Macnair?" inquired Kettleburn.

"I'd say about two and a half feet long and six inches wide," Macnair shrugged as though it weren't that intimidating.

Arabella's hand shot up once more.

"Yes, Miss Figg?"

"Just one more question sir," assured Arabella in a shrill screech, "are you BLOODY MAD having us chase down these horrible little things?"

"Before you launch into further wailing and moaning, I should mention that I had the 7th Years track down the parents of the nest earlier this morning," Professor Kettleburn announced.

The 6th Years promptly ceased their complaining as the idea of chasing down fire-breathing, gliding beasts as big as most of they were.

"If you're all done, ladies I want you to flank all sides of the grass and have your wands ready to stun anything that comes out past you," Kettleburn instructed, "boys, head out into the grass and do what you can to make a lot of noise to scare the creatures out."

"Does panicked screaming count?" Peter asked the other Marauders as they made their way towards the brush with unhappy expression.

"I should have brought Rick out with me," Sirius decided.

"Why would you want to feed your mongoose to an imitation dragon?" Remus joked, earning a scowl from Sirius.

"Bugger off, Moony! Rick could have his way with anything that crawls on its belly and has scales," Sirius insisted defensively about the skills of his familiar.

"Sounds a lot like his master," Peter snorted as his eyes wandered over towards Florence Copia and Winifred Wilkes who were taking position near a side of the overgrowth.

"Wormtail, I BLOODY SWEAR that you are a centimeter off from breathing those cute comments of yours through a fresh hole in your windpipe," Sirius warned as he shoved the boy ahead of the rest of them.

Remus shook his head smiling to himself and nudged James to join in but the scruffy haired ringleader was unusually quiet that morning considering they were in one of his favorite classes.

"Are you feeling alright Prongs?" Remus pressed curiously.

"Just lots on my mind," was all James would confess to, "now I have dragon hunting to toss on the list."

"I think we all could have done without this," Remus nodded as the boys started to fan out.

Walking around to a side of the tall grass, Lily and Arabella stood a few paces off from one another as they kept their wands at their sides and eyes sharply ahead. The mist on the ground was only going to add problems to their attempts at their make-shift assignment as either of the girls could barely make out the tops of their shoes. Once the boys of the class were well in the thick of the patch, Lily decided it would be safe to speak up.

"James has been acting odd recently," Lily announced to Arabella.

"Has he?" Arabella questioned, turning her head.

"You haven't noticed?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he's been studying a lot but who hasn't," Arabella shrugged.

"It's something more than that," Lily insisted, "something's bothering him, I know it. It's like he's trying to distract himself with school work and quidditch so he doesn't have to worry about it or has an excuse to put it off."

"Well maybe he wants to break up with you," Arabella replied.

Lily dropped her wand into the grass next to her but chose to gawk at her friend rather than retrieve it.

"Are you serious?" Lily demanded.

"Good heavens, no!" Arabella gaped at Lily, "I was TEASING! Why would James want to break up with you, you daft girl?"

Lily bent to reclaim her wand and straightened herself in both posture and composure.

"Then I don't know what to think about things then," Lily sighed, "I don't get why he won't tell me what's wrong if it's not about me."

"Maybe that's the problem," Arabella offered, "there IS NO problem."

"What do you mean?" asked Lily.

"Well, isn't it possible that James is just catching up on some much needed work?" Arabella went on, "He's in line for headboy and has that whole rivalry with Snape so you know he'll be desperate to win out. That's probably why he's cracking down on the studying since that's all Snape does in place of actually having a life. And since the last Quidditch Match is about a week away I imagine James is just getting himself pumped up for taking on Ravenclaw."

"I suppose that makes sense," Lily muttered thoughtfully as she watched James stride between the grass paying A LOT of attention to where he place his next step, I just can't shake the feeling that it's like he's just going through the motions of being my boyfriend. As though it's some kind of chore he's expected to keep on top of."

"God, you sound like me with all this whining and irrational conclusion jumping," Arabella rolled her eyes, "and THAT should give you a grand idea of how mad you sound."

"You really think I'm being silly?" Lily fidgeted slightly.

"From what I can tell, yes, but you are his girlfriend so you would have a better idea than me if there was something off," Arabella admitted, "it's probably nothing but IF something IS bothering James it'll do you no good trying to force him into volunteering the information. He'll tell you what it is when he's ready."

Arabella threw a supportive look to the perturbed redhead.

"Whatever it is, I know it's not you."

"Thank you for that," Lily smiled weakly.

It was then Riley McKinnon, a Hufflepuff, cried out in surprise and leapt nearly five feet into the air away from the place he had just been standing. His brother, Bradley stifled a laugh into his fist as he watched the scene. Arabella and Lily erupted into a few chuckles themselves.

"You know it's not going to be all that amusing when one of those things comes flying at us," Lily noted still grinning.

"Oh I imagine I'll simply die on the spot!" Arabella confessed with a laugh.

Evan Rosier felt himself growing exceptionally nervous as he maneuvered a path through the tall blades of grass, but it had little to do with dragon-like creatures. He was stealing more than one glance in the direction of Winifred Wilkes but found precious little resolve to do anything more than that.

For nearly two years, Evan had always tried to find some means to strike up a dialogue with Wilkes that would show her that he was a good-natured, accommodating boy if not a bit shy.

Alright, a lot shy.

Regardless, Evan has trained up and fought hard for his position on the House quidditch team when Tristan found out that Wilkes fancied the sport. He had hoped this thing in common might be something they could talk about but every time Evan could remember addressing Wilkes something always went wrong with the conversation and he felt like he was wasting her time with his fidgeting and stumbling words. Probably the largest reason he was going along with Tristan's attempts to sweet talk Lestrange and Tudor was so he could figure out something that he might be able to use to help him not seem so utterly pathetic when he bothered to speak with Wilkes.

Evan didn't know why it was Wilkes that he was so keen on. There had been other girls more than interested in getting to know him better than casually, but Evan simply couldn't get that teasing smile or demure poise out of his mind. Evan guessed that the reason he wanted Wilkes was because he had to work so hard to get her. Maybe it was something in that Hufflepuff nature of his but the idea of proving to someone as aloof as Wilkes that he was the most worthwhile guy around was possibly more appealing than actually dating Wilkes herself.

Like many times before this one, it wasn't long before his best friend, Tristan Travers caught him looking at the Slytherin.

"Dear Merlin, talk to her or I'll owl your parents telling them you'll be needing an arranged marriage as soon as they can get enough sheep together to sell you off with," Tristan rolled his eyes with an annoyed expression.

"Tristan, women offer up the dowry in arranged marriages," Evan corrected his friend, having History as one of his better subjects.

"Yeah, well what do you think you're giving a fair impersonation of," Tristan smirked, "Come on! We are the men-folk meaning our job is to be assertive and persistent. Coy and shy are the girl's bag in all this so get off your arse and walk-over to Wilkes and tell her how it is."

Evan wrinkled his nose as though something particularly rancid just crossed under it.

"It doesn't really work like that," Evan insisted before eyeing his friend more curiously, "does it?"

"Well only one way to find out," Tristan shrugged, "but I can assure you that nancying about like lass waiting for a quidditch captain to ask her to the ball isn't the way to go."

Making a disgusted noise, Evan felt himself walking away from Tristan and towards Wilkes. He hated to admit it but whenever Tristan started in on him with his philosophies about how the world was expected to turn, Evan more often than not went along with it. Not that it was incredibly hard to badger him into most things anyway.

Evan just had one of those conformist personalities.

Noticing Wilkes was now watching him, expectant of his approach, Evan felt his palms begin to sweat. He hadn't actually thought out what he was going to say to Wilkes upon arrival but he couldn't back down now that it felt like every eye in class was watching him. Evan could only hope that he didn't make too much of an idiot out of himself.

"Hey, Wilkes?" called Evan tentatively as came up to the Slytherin girl, "is it alright if . . . I mean do you have a moment?"

"Several in fact," said Wilkes with a smile wiggling on her lips.

Rosier almost wished she wasn't smiling since it was making him more nervous than he already felt. Clearing the anxiety lodged in his throat through a rather audible noise, Rosier pressed on.

"Well Winifred. . .is it alright if I call you Winifred?" asked Evan awkwardly.

"I see no harm since it is my name," replied Winifred casually.

"Yes. . . of course, um, feel free to call me Evan . . . if you'd care to," offered Evan.

"Alright Rosier," Wilkes nodded as she was evidently curious to see where the Hufflepuff was going with this dialogue. Evan was curious himself and tried not to be put off by her maintaining formalities.

"Well, I was thinking that O.W.L's are going to be right on top of us pretty soon and I was looking to put together a study group to prepare for them. I've heard you're brilliant in Herbology and was thinking that we could use someone like that. . . if you're interested that it," Evan explained he could feel his mouth going more dry with each new word passing through it.

"And there's no one in Hufflepuff as good at Herbology as me?" questioned Wilkes as she cocked her head to one side, "I mean, Professor Sprout is the head of your House and all."

"Well, I'm sure there are some, but I think you're the best in our Year," said Evan with a shy shrug.

"That's flattering you think so, thank you Evan," Wilkes smiled appreciatively as she patted him on the shoulder, "the thing is, Sirius Black already offered to help prep me for our finals and since I've already agreed to that I'm not sure how much time I'll have free considering our regular lessons and everything else."

"I . . . I understand," Evan nodded, feeling his heart sink with each bob, "still, if you change your mind or if you and Black are looking for company then let me know and we'll fit you in."

"I'll mention it to him," Wilkes promised, "you should probably get back to scaring out game while I attempt to bring it down."

"Er. . . right," agreed Evan reluctantly as he started to make his way back towards the center of the brush, "I'll talk with you later then."

Wading through the thick blades of grass with no particular care of whether a Ersatz Dragon bit him or not, Evan sought out Tristan Travers with a heavy expression as his friend studied him with an expectant look.

"Well?" Tristan demanded.

"Oh god that went HORRIBLE!" Evan moaned, evidently distraught, "I couldn't have been more pathetic if I had set out to do just that!"

"What happened?" asked Tristan, stealing a glance of Winifred to see if she had any telling expression.

"I suggested we get together to form a study group, tripping over my own tongue on every single word," Evan relived his conversational failure, "she said that she was planning on studying with Black. No wonder since I must have come across as a squib with all that stuttering. She probably thinks I'm as thick as all those jokes and rumors that the other Houses spread about us Hufflepuffs!"

"What a haughty little she-beast!" Tristan spat, glaring hotly at Wilkes, "I have half a mind to hex her into the new millennium for that forked tongue of hers."

"Why? I'm the one making a fool of myself," Evan insisted in a relatively angst ridden voice, "she just – "

"She just blew you off for Black!" Tristan finished with a growl, turning his scowl on Sirius, "I can't believe that she's content to pass up a decent bloke like you for some posturing peacock who won't look twice at her once he's had his fill! I never thought Wilkes was the swiftest broom in the pile and this bloody well proves it!"

Evan shoved Tristan in his shoulder with a cross expression.

"Lay off, alright?" Evan snapped.

"Look, Evan, obviously Wilkes isn't the right sort of girl for you, high-maintenance and all that rubbish. You wait two sodding years to say a sentence to her and she shoots you down like a sparrow in the sky," Tristan attempted to sooth his friend as he threw a friendly arm around Rosier, "there are LOADS of girls far more worth your time than her. What about Meeks? She's sweeter than anything sold at Honeydukes and smart too. Maybe Kinkade, she's pretty fun to joke about with and plays Beater like you so there's something you have in common. Or if you have your heart set on them Slytherin types, it's not like Copia ever says no to a chap."

Evan shrugged off Tristan arm, staring at him with a look that would suggest he suddenly had a headache.

"Tristan. . .it doesn't work like that," Evan sighed, "I'm still keen on Wilkes but if I decide to change my mind it's not going to be on account of anything you say."

"I'm just trying to look out for my friend is all," Tristan replied with a note of defeat.

"I know, I appreciate it," Evan forced a smile and nod for Tristan benefit, "I'll be fine, honest."

Reluctantly accepting this Tristan could only shrug.

"Good," Tristan patted his friend shoulder, "you know I'd do anything for you in the name of friendship, right?"

"I know," Evan stated confidently, "same goes for me. We've been close since 1st Year. Those McKinnon boys have one another and we carry on like brothers anyway."

Travers sneered towards Bradley and Riley McKinnon, fraternal twin brothers that were in Hufflepuff along with them, at the mention of their family name.

"Don't get me going on those prats," Tristan requested, "they act like their untouchable to the world, all high and mighty. Someone's going to knock those two down a couple pegs and I hope to Merlin it's me."

"Thought you didn't want to get going on Brad and Riley," Evan chuckled.

"I didn't but then you brought them up!" Tristan chuckled back.

"Hey, less socializing you two!" Professor Kettleburn called from the other side of the grass, "we've still got a few more to round up."

Tristan and Evan fractured off into opposite direction. After a few more minutes of the young wizards patrolling within the grass, a loud assortment of hisses and cracks erupted from nearby the Gryffindor boys along with a collection of multicolored sparks. Nearly all the students jumped out of their skins at the sound of this and were even more shocked to finds a small brush fire pop up at the site of the explosion. Quickly the boys began to cast watering charms in the direction of the blaze with Professor Kettleburn attempting to make his way over as fast as possible.

Preoccupied with the firefighting, Weaver and McGinnis let out startled shrieks as an Ersatz Dragon shot past them at a high speed, causing them to chase after it into the meadow shouting charms and waving their wands with the McKinnon brothers and a few more of their peers following behind them. Figg and Evans shared a similar experience with Wilkes and Copia jumping in after to help out.

Once the last of the creatures had been caught and the acidic smoke had cleared out of the air, Kettleburn treaded towards Potter, Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew with and impressively cross expression.

"And which of your BRILLIANT minds thought setting off explosives in dry grass was a STUNNING idea," Kettleburn demanded in a half-shout.

Lupin, Potter, and Black each turned to Pettigrew who was using his best "who me?" expression at the moment. Once he realized that he was the only one putting it on, Pettigrew scowled at the other boys.

"Oh that's just DANDY!" Pettigrew huffed at his being sold out.

"That was just STUPID!" Black replied, which was even more insulting since such a criticism was, in fact, coming from Sirius Black.

"I think we need to have a word with Professor McGonagall," Kettleburn decided as he motioned for Pettigrew to follow after him, "As for the rest of you, put the Ersatzes in crates and in the stabled then class is dismissed for the day."

As the remainder of the class began to move to accommodate Kettleburn's instructions, Tristan shook his head to Evan while crossing his arms.

"I swear if this doesn't set Wilkes straight on the type of people she should be hanging about then she's an utterly hopeless case to invest in," said Tristan harshly.

Evan said nothing as he glanced over to Wilkes who had an amused smile in reaction to either the pyrotechnics display or the chewing out and sighed with frustration.

Hushed voices teased the afternoon air of the school library as Hogwarts students grappled with their studies.

Severus Snape was amongst them. He and Millicent Meeks were meeting to collaborate on their project. Welcoming the formal, academia setting the library offered, Severus was able to push Meeks's possible affections to the back of his mind in favor of problems it was far more adept at dealing with.

Complicated social situations were never his strong suit.

Given more than a week to consider his options, Severus decided to simply ignore Meeks's feelings as she didn't appear to be all that insistent upon expressing them. As far as he was concerned, Severus assumed that whatever had passed through Meeks's mind and quill had been a whim of the overrated sentimental fiasco that was Valentine 's Day that she had abandoned since. True, Meeks was friendly and helpful with him but this was no different from her disposition with anyone else at Hogwarts. In fact, Meeks had offered nothing to suggest that anything more than a casual friendship with him was her intent.

Of course, Meeks seemed painfully timid and very much repressed in the usual range of emotions that most people entertained. Whatever the circumstances, he mentioned nothing of Meeks to Aurora Black since he considered the situation to be more than contained and utterly inconsequential.

With Meeks off for the moment, speaking with Madam Pince, Severus was composing a rough outline for their paper when Regius Avery approached him in his usual flippant manner.

"Do you mind if Florence and I take up the other half of the table?" Avery inquired, setting his belongings down without waiting for an answer.

Severus took a quick glance around the library and noticed that nearly all the other tables were full and the ones with vacancies available were places that Sevreus himself personally wouldn't have cared to share. Wagering that Madam Pince wouldn't appreciate a trivial argument over seating arrangements all that much, Severus decided to pick his battles with the other Slytherin.

"If you must," Severus relented as he returned to his quillwork.

Lounging in his chair, Avery brushed some blonde waves from his eyes and glanced over to his prefect.

"Your partner tardy as well?" asked Avery as he nodded over to the empty seat across from Severus.

"No, Meeks is simply using Professor Sprout's permission to retrieve some books from the restricted section," Severus explained, attempting to block out Avery's droning voice.

In Severus's opinion Regius Avery was a painfully extroverted individual to the point he was constantly compelled to make conversation regardless of the company. Uncertain if this was some unconscious result of aristocratic breeding or some psychological phobia of silence, Severus still found it annoying as Avery rarely had anything truly original to offer in a dialogue.

Not that Avery bothered to make himself aware of such a thing.

"Well my partner's probably off gathering recent gossip. . .hopefully something interesting if she's going to keep me waiting," Avery yawned into his hand.

If Severus was capable of such emotions he might actually pity both Regius Avery and Florence Copia as well as their probable marks on Heilsing's assignment. The best either seemed able to manage was average standing in their Year and considering how distracting their highly social personalities were Severus sincerely doubted they would fair as well this time around.

"So you and Meeks eh?" asked Avery as his eyes wandered the room.

Placing his quill down with a audible hiss of air between his teeth, Severus turned to Avery.

"Avery, before you embarrass yourself with whatever you were preparing to insinuate, Millicent Meeks and I posses nothing more meaningful than a working relationship," said Severus shortly.

He wanted to squelch Avery's speculations before either Copia or Millicent arrived. The very last thing he wanted was for either to get the wrong impression of the situation.

"If you say so," Avery shrugged peaceably, "I was just going to say that I thought Meeks made a fair match for you. She seems pretty smart, always struck me as more a Ravenclaw than a Gryffindor. And considering how low-maintenance and tolerant that girl is it's not like your usual. . .er. . .quirky personality would put her off all that much."

"I'm aware of Meeks's virtues, Avery," Severus replied in a cross tone, "and what I choose to do or not do with such knowledge is entirely independent of your meddling."

"Fine. . . die alone . . . whatever," Avery shrugged once more, although a little more irritably this time. Spying Florence Copia approaching them, Avery took his books out to start working with.

"Well, well," said Copia in her usual light-pitched voice as she sat down, "what am I missing out on?"

"Punctuality but that doesn't really matter all that much in life," Avery quipped, "I was just mentioning to Severus that I thought of Meeks as more of a Ravenclaw than a Gryffindor."

Severus groaned inwardly with disappointment that the subject wasn't being abandoned as he would have hoped. It was not only distracting worthwhile brain power from completing his work but it was obnoxiously intrusive.

"Oh certainly," Copia agreed, playing with her glossy black curls and smiling to Severus, "that your type now?"

"Meeks isn't all that different from Evans," Avery pointed out, completely ignorant of any relationship Copia and Severus may have once entertained.

"Oh I say it's entirely different," Copia challenged in a sweet voice that oozed insincerity like glaze off a bun, "Meeks is friendly without it seeming so fake and showy like Evans does. She's also smart but not in the know-it-all way Evans has to go about proving it. And it should be mentioned that the Meeks family has deeply planted wizarding roots."

"Considering that your popularity lacks as much refinement as your grasp of magic I'm not entirely confident you're in a position to judge Lily Evans," Severus interjected smugly.

"Oh she's shagging Potter, Severus, drop the bloody torch," Copia rolled her eyes.

Avery snorted a chuckle into his fist out of polite habit before straightening the amused look on his face back in place.

Ever since Lestrange and Tudor lost face to him and Winifred in February, Severus found that Copia and Avery, with the occasional presence of Nott, were far more insistent upon keeping company with him even though he was sure that none of them enjoyed it. It was simply how the worm turned in Slytherin, coiling around those who were on top.

Severus almost envied Lestrange and Tudor's heyday since that would mean Copia and Avery would be bothering them with their mindless chatter and nasally pitches than him.

Walking up with her recently acquired tome pressed against her chest, Millicent Meeks smiled politely to the new occupants of her table.

"Hello Mr. Avery. Miss Copia," Meeks greeted as she took her seat. Avery and Copia smiled civilly and nodded in reply. Although she had a Slytherin at nearly all sides of her, Meeks appeared to be handling the situation far better than most other Gryffindors would in her place.

As before, Severus vainly hoped that his Housemates would behave themselves.

"Severus, is there a Hogsmeade visit scheduled before the Years over?" asked Copia, evidently not concerned with pursuing any constructive work.

"The Prefects were considering the weekend after the final guidditch match so that they won't distract students from their finals," said Severus shortly.

"That will be nice," Avery nodded along with the conversation. A thoughtful expression crossed his sharp, aristocratic features before turning to Severus's partner, "say, Meeks? want to go together?"

Both Severus and Meeks stopped what they were doing to stare at Avery.

"Pardon?" Meeks questioned, apparently not all that certain as to how she should react.

"To Hogsmeade. You and I. Want to spend the day together?" Avery broke his invitation down in a simple, if not slightly condescending, tone, "don't get hung up on the House politics of it all, dear. Florence and Black were an item once upon a time and Severus had his little whatever it was with Evans so apparently Slytherin/Gryffindor matches are all the rage for our Year."

Severus's black eyes narrowed. He was convinced that Avery was attempting to test his reaction, force him to give something away of the situation.

"Um, well, I'm not sure," Meeks flushed bright pink as she appeared to be completely unable to make eye contact with anyone at the moment.

Avery sat back, looking far too impressed with himself at reducing Meeks to fractured words. He evidently took this as result of his supposedly suave charm rather than Meeks's shy nature. Severus was tempted to jump in and question Avery's motivations openly however he chose to restrain himself as such an effort was both suggestive and not his business.

"Well, we have a bit of time yet for you to mull over your social calendar," Avery shrugged, "get back to me when you make up your mind."

Turning to Copia with a bored expression, Avery went on.

"Want to get out of here? I don't very much feel like studying today."

"Neither do I," Copia admitted as she stood up with Avery. Giving off a small wave to Severus and Meeks, the pair of Slytherin left the library without another word.

Meeks noticeable exhaled as they left.

"It's not my place to offer you advice on this matter, Miss Meeks but you aren't obligated to attend any function with Avery if you don't care to," Severus pointed out.

"I – I know," Meeks nodded, "I'm just accustom to Cassidy or Sirius or someone else being around to be . . . well . . .bold on my behalf. It's just not used to being put on the spot like this."

"Well, perhaps this will be a growing experience for you then," Severus suggested, "it's not as though you can make it all that far in life constantly looking at someone else to be brave for you."

"I suppose not," said Meeks as she opened a book and evidently attempted to return to the task at hand. After a few minutes of unfocused effort on her part, Meeks turned her gray eyes up to Severus.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but I was curious," Meeks apologized, "are you saying that you would prefer . . . that is, you'd rather I not go to Hogsmeade with Mr. Avery?"

"I have no preferences, Miss Meeks," Severus explained decisively, "because I do not care what you do."

"Oh . . . I see."

It was then that Meeks's always sunny if not slightly apprehensive expression broke apart with a disheartened tint as she attempted to hide it unsuccessfully from behind a thick book.

It was also then that Severus realized that Meeks had not so entirely discarded her inspirations from Valentine's.

Lily felt like some kind of scoundrel lying in wait as she hovered by the Fat Lady portrait, waiting for James to arrive back at Gryffindor tower after his afternoon classes. Divinations had been stifling in both temperature and content, leaving Lily certain that she was a fright with sweaty skin, damp clothing, and frizzy hair. In spite of all this, Lily was committed to talking to James before he invented some excuse for blowing her off.

After a few minutes and more than a few nosy questions from the Fat Lady portrait, James made his way towards the entrance offering Lily a smile. It was completely weak and forced. The same you'd expect someone to give after receiving socks for Christmas.

"How was Arithmancy?" Lily inquired to make polite conversation as she pecked James on the cheek.

"Usual stuff, blank charts requiring numbers," James shrugged before turning to the portrait doorway to speak the password, "Boysenberry."

Continuing on into the common room, Lily kept close to James's side like she were a second shadow.

"I was thinking that after you've finished with your quidditch practice and I'm done with my prefect meeting, we could go back to my room and catch up," Lily said slightly suggestively, "I've barely seen hide or hair of you. It's like you're a stranger to me."

"Yeah I know," James nodded, "I've just been – "

"Busy," Lily finished. She was more than used to hearing that word by now.

"Yeah," James sighed as he stopped in front of the stairs, "I've got some things to catch up on but how about if I make it to you by curfew. That way you won't have to worry about stepping out."

"Alright," Lily agreed since this was the best offer she had received in almost two weeks, "are you going to tell me what's been bothering you then?"

"I've told you nothing's bothering me," James reminded in a tired voice, as though it were a strain to repeat himself.

"You've told me that but everything about you suggests something else," Lily's eyes sought his, "you've been so removed and melancholy I can't even begin to know what's wrong but I know something is."

James shifted his posture and eyes a bit from Lily.

"I'm just a bit blue," James explained, "it's nothing you did so don't think that, okay? I'm not upset with you. I'm just . . .upset. That's all I can really say on it but it really has nothing to do with you."

"It does when you're so put out by it," Lily countered.

"I know you're trying to be helpful but badgering me really isn't going to accomplish much save for frustrating me," James warned fairly, "I have to get out on the pitch now, but I'll see you around ten. I'd really like to not talk about anything pertaining to my ill mood so long as I'm not taking it out on you, okay?"

"No it's not," Lily shook her head, "you've been acting like some sorry thing impersonating James Potter for practically a fortnight and I'm not supposed to be concerned by or question it? I can't just turn a blind eye while you sulk about the castle."

"Why not?" James challenged with a stony expression, "if you love me then why can't you just leave me be?"

"Because you're not acting like the James I love and I want him back!" Lily insisted heatedly.

"What if he doesn't come back?" James's question hit Lily like a harsh hex, "What if this is it?"

Lily took a deep breath to steel her composure.

"Don't talk like that," Lily pleaded, "it scares me more than you know to hear you talk just like that."

James shook his head like he was working off some sort of trance, his features softening slightly as he did.

"Lily, I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you, honest," James assured in a tired voice, "I'm just not myself lately. We'll . . . we'll talk about that later. We both have things we need to do now."

"Yeah," Lily relented, "I guess I'll see you then."

James took Lily's hand and gave it a small squeeze before he climbed the stairs. Lily leaned against the wall for support and let out a loud sigh wondering what she was going to do with herself and James.

She wasn't even aware of Peter's presence until he tapped her on the shoulder.

"He tell you what's bothering him yet?" Peter asked.

"No," Lily replied with a relieved look, "you've noticed something's off too? I was beginning to think I was the only one who bothered."

"Well everyone else is so busy with their own lives that they've simply overlooked it all with James or have taken him on his word when he said he was fine. Since I don't have a life, I'm immune to this mass stupidity," Peter joked in a self-deprecating way.

"I gather he's said nothing to you then," Lily pressed.

"Nothing save for the same run around he's been giving you," Peter confessed, "I reckon he's bound to tell one of us. You probably hold the better odds though."

"Lucky me," Lily closed her eyes..

In the mid afternoon, just as classes had finished up for the day in the school, Hagrid was done rounding up a fair amount of plum field mice to tide the Ersatz Dragons over until they were shipped back to Germany. Carrying the serpents' dinner back over to the school stables, the large Groundkeeper noticed James Potter walking towards him in his House quidditch robes and a slightly vacant expression across his face.

"Why 'ello there James," Hagrid greeted warmly upon seeing the young man, "what brings yeh out here all dressed up teh play quidditch?"

James paused, taking a moment to glance around and sighed before tossing his broom to the ground dismissively

"Bugger. . .I came out on the wrong side of the castle without even noticing. I'll just have to fly around to the other side in a minute," James groaned before sitting cross legged on top the ground, "Good thing I ran into you Hagrid or I imagine I'd have walked clear into the forest without a second thought."

"Can't really argue with yeh there when yer look'n as lost in thought as yeh do right 'bout now," decided Hagrid as he approached the student, "Something troubl'n yeh?"

"Same stuff that's always troubling me I suppose," James shrugged as he brought his knees closer to his chest, "I guess I'm just finding it more distracting that usual lately."

"And I reckon talk'n 'bout it won't do any good?" asked Hagrid as he stood over James.

"I really don't think so," James shook his head.

Feeling entirely too short in the presence of the gigantic man in his position on the earth beneath them, James stood up so he wouldn't have to peer so far up at the groundkeeper.

"I think I just need to keep myself occupied and everything will see to sorting itself out," James decided.

"Not teh argue with yer logic there James, but I don't know if bury'n yer problems beneath a whole mess of things is the proper way teh go," Hagrid stroked his hand through his wild mess of a beard, "sounds like a good way teh trip over someone when yer least expecting teh."

James ran both his hands through his coarse black hair and closed his eyes for a moment in an effort to collect his distant thoughts.

"Maybe that's what I've done now. . .trip over long buried problems that have decided to resurface," James muttered mostly to himself, entranced with thought, "you know what the funny thing about it all is, Hagrid? I know that something's bothering me, causing me to feel completely isolated and empty but I don't know exactly what the source of it is. All I know is it's like this gaping whole that feels like it's getting bigger but it can't be filled no matter what I try so it's barely worth me bothering at all."

Hagrid appeared to be studying James carefully, his usually friendly black eyes expressing nothing but concern. Placing a big hand upon James's shoulder, Hagrid bowed slightly so he and James were seeing a bit more eye to eye.

At least in the literal sense.

"Yer a good lad, James, it bother's me more than I can say to see yeh so down," Hagrid began gently, "I think ye need teh slow yerself up a bit and really do some think'n about what's burden'n yeh, yeh'll only burn yerself out otherwise. If yer still stuck on this, talk teh yer friends. I'd be will'n teh bet all the gold in Gringott's that any one of them, particularly that Sirius Black would be more than willing teh lend an ear."

"I don't want to trouble them with. . .well, I don't even know what it is," said James, "most of them are really content right now with girls or other things and the last thing I want is them all being worried on my account because I'm feeling down in the mouth."

"Well what are friends fer if not teh be there fer yeh in good times and bad!" Hagrid huffed before relaxing a bit, "well, if yeh don't want teh bring it up teh them, I think yeh should talk teh the Headmaster. Not a man more wise than Albus Dumbledore, I've always said, nor a man more concerned about how his students are carrying on."

"Thanks Hagrid, I appreciate the advice," James managed a weak smile for the groundskeeper's troubles, "I'll use it some how, but right now I need to get myself over to quidditch practice seeing as I'm the one who called it."

"Alright," Hagrid relented, accepting that he had done all he could for James at the moment, "but if yeh feel like talk'n yeh just keep in mind what I said otherwise feel free teh come out teh my hut anytime and talk it out with me. Or just fer a visit if yeh like."

"I will Hagrid," James promised, "I'll come along once I'm a bit more cheerful company. Take care."

Retrieving and mounting his broom, James kicked off from the ground and darted between the spires before he vanished behind the massive structure of Hogwarts castle altogether.

Ignoring the dirty looks of a few girls as he passed through the dormitory halls, Aaron Lestrange carried a make-shift binder of loose paper at his side while making his way to Mary. He managed opened the door to the 6th Year bed chambers just in time to hear a loud boom of noise and see Mary get thrown clean across the room from the site of it. Rushing to her side on the Oriental rug that did little to cushion her rough landing upon the dungeon floors, Aaron dropped the book and knelt by Mary while looking over from head to toe.

"Are you alright?" He demanded, near frantic.

"Fine," Mary hissed as she allowed Aaron to help her to her feet while smoothing out her now disheveled hair and clothes. It was evident that her pride had been wounded the most in her tumble.

"What happened?" Aaron turned his eyes around the room in search of something to blame for the attack on his love.

"Just trying to get Winifred's bloody diary open," Mary explained hotly as she walked back over to her desk, "not that her insufferable ego would bother to make it at all easy on me."

"Maybe you should just toss the thing," Aaron recommended, "it's not worth getting your neck broken over."

Mary whirled around to stare at her boyfriend with evident distaste.

"Are you mad?" She questioned irritably, "I'm not about to pass up learning every dirty secret there is on Winifred just because there's a bit of a challenge to it. Next you'll be suggesting I give up on becoming Headgirl just because that mudblood Evans is so wonderfully brilliant."

"That's not at all what I'm implying," Aaron sighed, accepting the brunt of Mary's frustrations, "I just see no sense in getting yourself all worked up or possibly hurt on some book that passed into our hands."

"Well don't worry about me," Mary insisted seating herself in her chair once more, "I wager I'm close to cracking the little harpy since she's getting so defensive. Past that I'll be just a few short passages away from learning everything about Winifred Wilkes that she'd have wished I hadn't."

Retrieving the book he brought in with him, Aaron took up a spot on the corner of Mary's desk to look at her.

"Aren't you concerned Wilkes will just walk in and find you fiddling with her diary?" asked Aaron.

"Not especially," Mary replied, picking up her wand, "she's been off with Black every spare hour doing that stupid project of Heilsing's. I hope she mentions something of it in here. I'd love to tell Severus to his smug face that Winifred's shagging Black."

"Well, here's hoping," Aaron crossed his fingers causing Mary to smile a bit.

"So what brings you along this way?" Mary wondered.

"I need an excuse to see you now?" Aaron teased as he leaned in to kiss Mary on her perfectly painted lips. They savored the gesture for a long moment before pulling apart.

"Not at all," Mary assured.

"I do have some news that might amuse you," Aaron reported with a harsh grin as he displayed the plain cover book to Mary, "Travers brought something to my attention a few days ago and helped me out on this little arts and crafts project for Potter. I think he'll appreciate it very much."

Consumed with a curious expression, Mary took the book from Aaron and examined it with interest. Her grin grew wider and crueler with each page she turned.

"Travers is making himself quite useful to us these days," Aaron grinned along.

Mary shut the book and kissed Aaron again as she handed it back to him.

"Just when I think I couldn't possibly love you more, you go and do something like this," Mary cooed affectionately.

Aaron stroked his own cheek against Mary's in an affectionate nuzzle before standing up.

"As much as I'd relish basking in your approval of our little token here, I just wanted to show it to you before I sent it out from the Owlry," Aaron reluctantly admitted.

"That's all right, I'll show you how impressed I am with it later on," Mary promised with a wink, "you just make sure it gets to Potter. I'd hate for him to never see that."

"Crying shame that," Aaron nodded as he started to show himself out.

"Oh Aaron, wait," Mary called after him as she held out a slip of parchment with from over the back of the chair. Aaron came over to retrieve the freshly scribed note.

"What's a gift without a heartfelt note from the sender?" Mary asked with a near-manic smile.

Aaron read Mary's tight and sharp writing and smiled with her, before kissing the top of her forehead.

"I'm grateful I have you to remind me of my manners," Aaron praised.

With only two weeks until Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were expected to face off in the final match of the season, both Houses were spending as much time as they could fit in on the Pitch. As there was no sense in being anything but civil about the whole thing, the two teams agreed to alternate time as evenly and fairly as they could before the first week in May. Each had an hour to run drills in the morning before classes and an hour and a half after with twice that time on the weekend days.

Finished with their practice for the day, James and the rest of the Gryffindor House team sat in the stands as they watched the Ravenclaws warm up in the air. Where the Slytherins may have made comments or suspicious accusations about the rival team's presence, the Ravenclaws said nothing to the Gryffindors as most trusted that neither James nor anyone on his team was attempting anything underhanded by being there.

Besides, the Ravenclaws often arrived a bit early and spent a few minutes watching the Gryffindor team so it was only fair.

Intending to meet up with Cassidy after her practice, Gwen and Bronwyn joined the other Gryffindors in the stands as they finished their panting and last minute strategizing. Tugging on one of James's sleeves as he spoke, Cassidy pointed out a Ravenclaw player on her broom.

"That's Ophelia Atropos," Cassidy stated, "there sub-in Seeker."

"So it is," James nodded turning his eyes to the sky, "I wonder if she's any good."

"She'd better be," Hattie Sinclair, Gryffindor's own Seeker interjected confidently.

"Well I don't know about quidditch but she's always on the mark in Divinations," Gwen commented, "I almost think she knows what she's talking about more than the actual professor."

"I'd believe it," Bronwyn added on, "I'm not in Divinations but whenever someone in the House looses something she always knows where it is and she knows other things about people that she couldn't possibly be aware of. Most people don't like that so they keep their distance from her, not that it's all that hard a task to manage to begin with. Ophelia pretty much always kept to herself."

"I don't think I can remember having a conversation with her," Cassidy volunteered before turning to James, "have ye ever spoken with her?"

"Once and I can understand why people don't care to talk with her all that much," James answered as he kept his eyes fixed on the shortly kempt blonde soaring about, "still, I don't know if I think she's psychic."

"Trelawney seems to think she has the Sight," Gwen remarked stubbornly.

"Yeah, well James doesn't believe in destiny let alone the ability to see it, right?" Cassidy clarified as she turned back to James.

"You're right, I don't," said James, "but does the Ravenclaw team? I mean, is that the reason they put her on as Seeker? Some superstition that she'll just be able to divine where the snitch will end up and catch it?"

"Well I hope NOT because I CAN'T do THAT!" Sinclair moaned at the thought, inspiring Mundungus Fletcher to pat her sympathetically on the shoulder.

"Don't bother with that inner eye nonsense, just use the two in your head," James instructed firmly, "as far as I'm concerned, the Ravenclaws have pretty much cost themselves the Match against us if the most they have up their sleeves with this gambit is depending on lucky guesswork. No offense, Weaver."

Bronwyn shrugged the comment about her House off since she didn't really have a think to do with the quidditch team let alone who they decided to put on it. Still she decided to question James on it.

"Not that I necessarily disagree with you, but why don't you believe in divination?" asked Bronwyn as her shoulder length brown hair was pulled back by a strong breeze along with everyone else's, "I mean I'm a muggle-born so I can still be a little too practical about things I can't see with my own two eyes but I've found most Wizarding families tend to put a some faith in fortunetelling."

"I just think that if there was such a thing as people being able to see the future than we could have avoided a lot of horrible things that are deeply rooted in all our pasts," James reported dryly, "and I can assure you that my bloodline that has no use for divination as it continues and ends with me now."

"Um, I think it would be a good time teh call it a day since we're all worn teh the bone from practice and lessons," Cassidy announced, eyeing James as though he was who she was specifically referring to.

James didn't bother to protest this.

As the Gryffindors and their Ravenclaw guest rose to their feet, they paused as two barn owls joined them with a package being carried between them. Dropping it off with James the pair of birds flew off back towards the school, avoiding the busy air traffic over the pitch. The Gryffindor team gathered around curiously as James liberated his newly acquired gift from its brown wrapping and revealed what seemed to be a note and sections of parchment bound between two covers.

James inspected the note briefly, raising an eyebrow behind his glasses before crumpling it up. Opening the makeshift book, James scanned and flipped through the pages for barely a few seconds before he slammed the book shut with an ashen expression. Shaking, from fear or anger no one else present could be sure. James grabbed his broom and stormed off towards the stairs. A few of his teammates called or chased after their captain in an effort to discover what was wrong.

Knowing James well enough to realize that any efforts to get James talking would be futile ones, Cassidy turned to Gwen and Bronwyn who had remained behind with her.

"Did either of ye see what was in the book?" Cassidy probed.

"Not really," Gwen shook her head.

"It just looked like a bunch of newspapers to me," Bronwyn sighed.

Releasing her own audible puff of breath, Cassidy stooped down to retrieve the note James had crumple and pulled it open at the corners.

"What the hell – " Cassidy muttered as she scanned the print before passing it over into Bronwyn and Gwen's hands.

HAPPY FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY

FONDLY – A. LESTRANGE & M. TUDOR.

"What does this even mean?" Bronwyn knitted her brow over the message.

"Well Lestrange and Tudor have been seeing one another for about four years haven't they?" Gwen glanced between the taller girls.

"I don't think that's what they meant; it wouldn't make much sense," Bronwyn mused aloud.

"Lestrange and Tudor don't have teh make sense teh be cruel," Cassidy growled, "whatever they did really got teh James and I'm not going teh stand fer it."

With that, Cassidy grabbed her own broom and stormed towards the stairs leading down from the bleachers with Gwen and Bronwyn just a step behind.

"Cassidy, don't to anything too rash," Bronwyn advised nervously, "I know you mean well and all but I don't think James would want you getting in trouble on his behalf even if it's for dealing with some bottom-feeders like Lestrange and Tudor."

"Right! They're not worth it," Gwen pleaded, knowing Cassidy's moods all too well.

"No they aren't" Cassidy agreed hotly as she took the stairs two at a time, "doesn't mean they're not gonna get more than they deserve."


	34. A Sparrow's Requiem

A Sparrow's Requiem

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta By: jkit10

James had abandoned the pitch stumbling for balance and gasping for air. He thought he had heard his team mates calling out behind him but he couldn't have been too sure. He was running and everything was so dizzy. James vaguely remembered returning to the school and had somehow managed to find his way into one of the forgotten corridors in the castles.

Bumping into every wall and column along the way, finding no support for his uncooperative legs, James felt as though he was swimming or at least his head was. His breaths passed through his lungs too quickly. He was only remotely aware that he was clutching the binder Lestrange and Tudor had sent him white-knuckled by the hand.

James didn't know where he was heading, but soon he found himself in an alcove where no light was permitted and no warmth was welcomed. It was dusty and damp and seemingly condemning of any life within it. Everything was so claustrophobic at the moment, making James feel like he was buried alive in a catacomb of stone.

It was like a tomb.

James found a disturbing comfort in such a thought.

He heard an odd, strangling noise. Glancing wildly around, James realized it had come from him. His back pressed against the cold, uneven bricks of stone behind him as his legs began to slide out beneath him. The sharp thud of the book dropping from his hand and to the ground interrupted the sound of his frantic breaths. Even though it was completely dark James was certain that his vision was fading into black.

It was then James passed out.

Since acquiring Winifred Wilkes's diary, Mary Tudor had been completely consumed with unlocking the secrets guarded within it by Winifred's projected ego. As of the moment, Mary was completely without luck in getting the book to open to her and left Mary taxing her wits to get it talking. Having no interest in returning to watch his girlfriend drive herself up a wall and recognizing he had no means of talking her down from it, Aaron decided to abandon the Slytherin dorms for a bit as he returned from the Owlry.

Seeking out Tristan Travers and Evan Rosier, the pair of Hufflepuffs that have served as reasonable company to keep during his isolated days in Slytherin, Aaron decided to make it an evening with the chaps as the three toured the halls purposelessly. Tristan seemed content just to be walking around in Aaron's company while Evan offered the impression that he was mostly just going along with his friend. Still, they engaged in a casual conversation as they navigated the corridors and ended up seated in the courtyard at the heart of Hogwarts castle.

They exchanged dialogues over the otherwise trivial things that preoccupy a young wizard's mind: Music, quidditch teams, witches, mostly witches in the usual casual manner that most seventeen year old boys discuss such things.

That was until they were interrupted.

"LESTRANGE!" a voice shouted from one of the archways.

Expecting Potter or Black, possibly even the unlikely chance of either Lupin, Pettigrew, or Evans, Aaron was slightly surprised to see Cassidy Kinkade, the Gryffindor team Beater and an otherwise unimpressive specimen of what some wizarding families allowed themselves to carry on as. The Amazonian girl was trailed by Gwen McGinnis and Bronwyn Weaver, a couple of Muggle-borns who required no further classification in Aaron's mind.

"What do you want, Kinkade?" Aaron asked dismissively.

He was saving his energy for dealing with Potter and his little group and didn't feel like wasting his breath on a handful of Gryffindor girls and their hissy mood swings. Aaron was just grateful that no one but they were currently occupying the courtyard otherwise he would have been more cross.

"Where's yer lesser half?" Kinkade spoke while grinding her teeth as she stomped right up to the spot Aaron had taken on a bench with Evan and Tristan.

Rising to his feet, Aaron's stormy eyes narrowed on the black girl who was just a bit shorter than himself.

"I'll thank you NOT to refer to my girlfriend in such a coarse tongue," Aaron reprimanded while taking note of Tristan and Evan joining him at either side.

"Always a hot button with ye, isn't it, Lestrange? That fussy little shrew who's got a leash so tightly coiled around yer neck ye barely notice how much she's chocking ye with it," Kinkade taunted with her usual barbed words, "doesn't matter. I can deal with just ye now."

Without any further words, Kinkade disrobed from the outer part of her quidditch uniform and tossed it off to Weaver along with her broom then began to take of her wrist bracers with the intent to pass them to McGinnis. Evan and Tristan exchanged a set of uncertain looks and shrugs while Aaron felt his eyebrow rise.

"What are you doing?" Aaron demanded of the girl's bizarre actions.

"What does it look like, ye git?" Kinkade laughed without humor as she rolled up her sleeves, "I'm getting ready teh throw down with ye."

Wagering this meant that the Gryffindor girl intended to fight him, Aaron's mind began to process this absurd notion.

"You're joking," Aaron snorted but looked more than uncomfortable with the suggestion, "I don't fight with my fists and if I did it most certainly wouldn't be with _girls_. . . even ones as unlady like as you, Kinkade. Now quit embarrassing the both of us."

Cracking her knuckles before bringing her fists up in front of her, Cassidy kept her eyes fixed on Lestrange.

"Yer about teh get embarrassed by a girl stomping on yer arse if ye don't put your hands up right now," Kinkade warned through her teeth.

Realizing that Kinkade was very serious, Aaron's eyes began to shift uncomfortably as though he expected some solution to present itself.

"Tell her to back down," Aaron ordered at McGinnis who could only shrug while holding Kinkade's quidditch gloves.

"Like she'd listen to me," McGinnis shook her head, "besides, I want to see her bloody your nose."

Obviously recognizing the lack of help that the Gryffindor girls were providing in the situation, Evan placed himself between Aaron and Kinkade to keep blows from being traded.

"Let's sort this out civilly," Evan pleaded mostly to Kinkade. Both he and Cassidy Kinkade had grown up with only a moor separating their homes in Ireland and were familiar with one another before either received their acceptance letters to Hogwarts. The girl had been a hot-head then just as she was one now but Evan knew that Kinkade wasn't a bully in the least, "why are you all riled anyway Cassidy?"

"Ask yer boy here!" Kinkade urged nodding toward Aaron, "I'm dying teh know what ye did teh James Potter."

In spite of the tension that was thick in the air, Aaron's eyes lit up as he smiled to Tristan with an unsuppressed glee. Tristan looked equally amused if not twice as pleased as the Slytherin boy.

"Oh bloody hell!" Tristan chuckled, "Potter must be sobbing like a girl with a skinned knee if he's got everyone as riled as this!"

Aaron sputtered laughter at the thought of this being Potter's reaction to his prank while Evan watched the two other boys with an obviously ignorant expression plastered across his lightly freckled, fair face.

"What's this about?" Evan questioned.

"Just a little collection of mementos we thought Potter might appreciate," Aaron grinned wickedly.

"Then yhe helped them with whatever that?" Kinkade glared at Tristan, "guess I know who will be tasting the heel of my foot next then. Don't want teh spend too much time on Lestrange since I'm sure Tudor's got him liking a bit of the rough and tumble by now."

Aaron bristled against Kinkade's comment.

"What?" Aaron spat the word.

"No secret on who's driving the broom in your relationship, Lestrange," Kinkade gave off her own wicked grin, "maybe it's Tudor's ears I should be boxing. Hate teh see what sissy hair pulling ye got up yer sleeve fer me."

"I've got nothing to prove to a crass tomboy who wouldn't know pureblood if it was spilling from her veins," Aaron snarled as though it were a threat.

Even stood his ground between the Slytherin and the Gryffindor as he was sure it was the only thing keeping them off one another at the moment.

"I really fail to see how this is going to solve anything," Evan groaned.

"Get out of the way, Evan," Tristan urged, "they don't need a referee in all this."

"Tristan! You should be _helping_ me separate these to," Evan glared at his instigating friend.

"Yes, it's not as though boxing one another is really going to make anything better," Bronwyn Weaver agreed, seemingly as uncomfortable with the impending violence as Evan, "this is really just childish."

"If anybody wanted a mudblood's opinion one of us purebloods would have told you what it was," Tristan glared at Weaver for her interjection.

Kinkade took her eyes off Lestrange so they could burn into Tristan's just before she socked him full-force on the jaw. Tristan barely knew what hit him as his eyes rolled into his head and he fell backwards, sprawled across the ground unconscious. Everyone around Kinkade stood in wide-eyes and mute shock.

"Now you've done it," McGinnis broke the silence with a stunned whisper, "you're _kids_ will be serving detention because of this, you rampaging cow."

"I doubt it," Kinkade shook out her hand, still glaring at Tristan, "that would mean he'd have teh admit teh a girl pummeling him flat."

"Probably but it's still very stupid even for a hard-headed lass like you," Evan snapped as he went over to Tristan's side and casually inspected his friend's injuries, "you might have really hurt him, Cassidy!"

"What ye doing hanging around these vipers, Evan?" Kinkade shook her head disapprovingly, "ye've always been a pretty nice boy since I've known ye and that was long before Hogwarts."

"I'm not the one punching people, Cassidy," Evan gave his own critical look as he returned to his feet with his fists to his side.

"That's true," Kinkade relented, "of course I have teh wonder why ye haven't beaten me teh it."

Evan refused to look at Cassidy any longer.

"Just get out of here before someone notice this – this senselessness," Evan demanded.

Shooting one more menacing look at Lestrange so as to promise some sort of future reckoning, Cassidy turned around and walked back the way she came. Once she was sure that the boys couldn't see her, Cassidy sighed and relaxed her tense posture ever so slightly. Reaching between Bronwyn and Gwen, Cassidy began to pull her discarded sections of her quidditch uniform back to her.

"You didn't have to punch him, you know," informed Bronwyn softly, "they're just words."

"Yeah well words can still hurt," Cassidy grumbled as he pulled her quidditch robes back on.

"Probably not at much as that right jab," Bronwyn waged with a grin.

Cassidy raised her eyebrow with an entirely amused expression.

"Probably not," Cassidy chuckled.

"Thank you," Bronwyn said gratefully.

"Get on with yerself," Cassidy said dismissively, looking a bit embarrassed by the praise.

"Don't mind Cassidy, the tall stump she is," Gwen spoke in a scolding manner, "never could take a thank you or compliment even though she's always showing off like some knight on a white horse. I swear she needs to learn that if she's going to throw down gantlets for beauteous young maidens like ourselves she's just going to have to learn to accept the occasional handkerchief as a token of gratitude."

"Well modesty is an endearing quality," Bronwyn noted helpfully for Cassidy.

Looking more than a little uncomfortable from all the commentary, Cassidy swatted at Gwen for her chatty mouth with her broom. Gwen ducked out of the way, giggly merrily over her agitation of her best friend.

"What are yeh, my biographer?" Cassidy demanded, "get lost before I kick at yeh. AND WHO ARE YEH CALLING A STUMP, YEH HOBGOBLIN?"

Gwen continued to cackle as Bronwyn produced a handkerchief and passed it into Cassidy's hand.

"A token for your good deed," Bronwyn offered in a teasing voice.

Cassidy accepted it with a laugh.

"I SHOULD choke you with this for encouraging that raving brownie over there," Cassidy informed.

Instead she placed the token in her pocket.

"Well, I should be off so I can get started on my studies for the evening," Bronwyn announced as she took a fork off in the corridor, "I'll see you later Gwen to work on our project. Good bye Cassidy and thank you again!"

With that the brunette Ravenclaw trotted off in the direction of her dorms, leaving Gwen and Cassidy to finish the rest of their walk on their own. With Cassidy no longer taking wide swings at her, Gwen joined her friend by her side.

"So you like Bronwyn huh?" Gwen asked innocently.

"What? Why do yeh think that?" Cassidy sputtered with a surprised look she couldn't hide.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you antisocial flubberworm brain!" Gwen shouted, "you seem to carry on with her just fine and talk with her normally, or what passes for normal with you anyway, as you do with me, Millie, 'Bella, or Lily. God, you act like it's a _crime_ punishable by obnoxiousness like anyone outside of Gryffindor!"

"Oh," Cassidy said, "I – never mind, I like Bronwyn fine enough."

"Good, because she likes you too," Gwen beamed approvingly.

"Yeah?" Cassidy eyed her friend curiously.

"Yeah," Gwen nodded, "she talks about how grand she thinks you are all the time. She swears you're more posh than half the boys at this school."

"We'll I am," Cassidy replied with a hint of a smile.

James's eyes fluttered open, wide and alarmed.

He glanced around, attempting to recall where he was. It took a few strings of fuzzy thought to bring James back to where he had been before he had fainted. He was still breathing heavily but nowhere near as rapidly as he had been before passing out. Uncertain of how much time had lapsed between his states of consciousness, James wasn't particularly worried. Adjusting his position against the bare, granite walls James sighed as he worked himself into something that didn't so incredibly resembled slumping.

"_Lumos_," James rasped dully into the air, bringing light to the tip of his wand.

It was barely worth the effort of the words as there was nothing to see but narrow wall leading back the way he had charged through and another passage leading off to what was probably the dungeons. Putting his hand down to help push him off the floor and eventually head back to where ever it was he was supposed to be that hour, James felt the binding of the book he had received against his palm.

Every muscle froze in place on James as though his mind, body, and soul required a moment to restart themselves. Slowly drawing the homemade binder into his lap, James positioned his wand under his arm so he could use bother his hands. They shook visibly in the enchanted illumination. They were entirely uncooperative in opening the book as four years of carefully and redundantly instituted conditioning prohibited such a thing.

James wondered if he would pass out again if he continued on with this action. Willing to risk it, James pushed the over off to the side and stared at the first page. A section of parchment from the Daily Prophet, yellowing slightly with its four years of age.

**POTTERS MAKE FRIENDS IN THE MINISTRY AND ENEMIES OF VOLDEMORT WITH MULTIPLE ARRESTS OF DEATH EATERS **

Front page with both his parent's smiling through the picture on it. His eyes paused on their faces.

His mother adjusted a set of glasses on her nose not unlike his with her jet-black hair. His father, whom James had always been told he greatly resembled as most men in his line had a tendency of doing, ran his hand through his untidy hair out of nervousness or a vain effort to smooth it out for the picture. A quote was beneath their photograph.

"_We don't fear any wizard who hides their tyranny beneath revolution and their faces behind masks. With every person willing to let Voldemort step over them there will be two more willing to stand up to him."_ – Mister Potter commented with much verbal support of his wife when asked on whether the Auror couple was afraid of so openly protesting the Dark Lord.

Finding himself staring far too long and far too hard at the faces of his parents, James urged himself to turn to the next page.

**PURE-BLOOD WIZARDS FIGHTING FOR CHANGE - POTTER FAMILY MAKING WAVES IN THE MINISTY WITH MUGGLE-BORN POLICIES**

His eyes scanned the article that spoke of his paternal aunt and a few of his elder cousins' outlines for raising consciousness making muggle-borns no longer such second-class citizens in the eyes of the public.

_"I'm often asked how I can be so concerned with such trivial politics while dark sorcerers are coming out of the woodwork and I often say that if we put an end to such ignorance and bigotry we'll be cutting Voldemort and his puppets off at the knees!"_

**POTTER PATRIARCH PHILANTHROPIST HELPS PAY MUGGLE-BORN WAY**

James read on about how his grand-father gave a small fortune of galleons to Hogwarts to be sure that any Muggle-borns accepted who couldn't afford their magical education would have the means to pursue on anyway. Like the articles before his, it had a quote:

_"Not even the most venerable of witches and wizards can hope to grasp the potential and possibilities of magic as a child is capable. I do not think of this as a donation since it is simply an investment in all our world's future."_

Turning the page, James felt his blood run cold all over again.

**POTTERS DIE NOBLELY IN SERVICE AS AURORS – AN EMPIRE AND A FAMILY MOURNS**

James attempted to continue past the headline but his eyes began to sting so sharply with welling tears that he couldn't right away.

Placing his hand in between the pages to mark his place for when he was ready to return to it, James heard his sobs cut through the air and linger as echoes in the corridors as he openly cried for his loss in four years.

Taking advantage of the usual solitude the Hogwarts conservatory has to offer when not in use, Sirius and Winifred were seated upon the piano bench in the center of the room with their charms texts in front of them. Losing interest in working on their assignment for Defense Against the Dark Arts, the two attempted to complete their homework but found that something or another managed to continuously distract them from the task and leave the two chuckling over school gossip or sarcastic jokes.

No longer capable of even putting up the pretense of studying, Sirius shut his book and began keying the piano listlessly to occupy himself.

"See? Isn't this more entertaining that working with Snape?" Sirius insisted without any modesty.

"Amusing yes. However it's not productive in the least," Winifred sighed, "you're horrible at getting off topic."

"Actually, it's because I'm so good at it that we're not getting any work done," Sirius corrected literally, inspiring Winifred to chuckle some more.

"Fair enough," Winifred contested, "I wonder why Meeks asked Severus to work with her. Is it because they've been partnering so much in potions?"

"I'd imagine that's why she agreed to it, but I doubt Millicent asked Snape," Sirius contributed to Winifred's train of thought, "Millicent isn't the forward type in the most remote sense of the word. She typically waits for someone to offer to work with her since she's so shy."

"I wonder if that's the girl Severus may fancy," Winifred mused causing Sirius to make an ill face.

"I certainly hope not," Sirius scowled, "I think of Millicent almost like a sister. I'd probably die if those two started seeing one another."

"Well I doubt anything will come from it," Winifred reassured, "for as shy as Meeks may be Severus is doubly reclusive. I believe he'd find the constant presence of someone, romantic or no, to be a major intrusion on his life."

"Thanks Win, you just gave me hope that Snape will die alone," Sirius replied gratefully.

Winifred chose not to comment on to avoid contributing to the outstanding feud between the two boys. Suddenly curious of the time, Winifred investigated her wrist watch.

"It's near ten," Winifred announced as she closed her book and placed it in her bag.

"That would be the hour of sequestering us to our House commons," Sirius rolled his eyes as he mimicked Winifred's actions, "you'd think that they would be able to trust us older years to get to bed on our own."

"I've always said there was a lack of trust going around in the world," Winifred shrugged as she took route towards the dungeons, "anyway how this would mark the end of our evening so I suppose I'll say my goodnight to you and see you tomorrow."

Climbing down from the tower and entering into the third story corridor, Sirius and Winifred began to place distance between themselves and the conservatory. A pair of Ravenclaws hurried past them towards their dormitories. Sirius kept up alongside Winifred with a lopsided grin as he stretched out, more than sore from being hunched over books for a majority of the evening.

It occurred to Sirius that he didn't really know a whole lot about Winifred Wilkes. He knew things about her, trivial facts and passing thoughts, the sort of unimpressive awareness any person could have about anyone, but he really didn't know much about her as a person. What her thoughts or feelings were like. Consumed with interest in this, as most things that occurred to Sirius had a habit of doing, Sirius recalled a technique Aurora used in her work as an analyst when working with small children.

"Well if it's the end of the night then how about you tell me a fable?" Sirius requested.

"Pardon?" Winifred turned towards Sirius, eyeing him curiously.

"You know, it's customary to tell someone a story before bedtime. Why not have your hand at spinning one," Sirius encouraged, "we could use something entertaining after all that studying."

"You mean procrastinating," Winifred corrected.

"You and your cleverly minced words," said Sirius still grinning, "come on, tell us a tale."

Winifred's smile grew awkward, evidently uncomfortable with Sirius's suggestion.

It wasn't Sirius's intention to make Winifred uneasy by his prompting but Aurora had explained that people express themselves in subtle ways through things most people never pick up on. A person's art or the way they keep their room, even how they tell a story could say so much about a person's soul that they would never otherwise mention.

Sirius wondered what stories Winifred knew.

"Darling, the only fiction people like myself know how to weave aren't enchanting or romantic anymore than they are popular," Winifred shook her head, "We know masterfully worded webs of lies that ensnare all those that hear them so tightly that they can't even feel us spider our way to them begin to suck everything worthwhile inside until all they have to show is the hollow promise of something they never could have."

Sirius blinked in response to this, chilled by the morbid turn of the conversation. Still, he managed a supportive smile and placed one of hands atop the girl's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter if a story starts out grim, luv," informed Sirius gently, "the real reason people keep on hanging about is to see if there's a happy ending in spite of it all."

Winifred bit her lip as she inhaled deeply, considering Sirius's words. Keeping her eyes fixed on a section of windows as they strolled through a walkway, Winifred saw a flock of birds pass across the moon calling out to one another as they passed. Straightening up slightly, Winifred threw up one of her usually coy smile Sirius was beginning to assume was as default as his own broad ones as she carefully parted her glossy lips.

"Once, in a time and a land far from this, there was an egg that fell from a tree and out hatched a little sparrow who couldn't get back into her nest," Winifred began in a smooth and knowing voice, "she could hear her mother and her father and her brothers and sisters chatting to each other so high above but she never heard her name. She would spend all her days looking up and watched her family fly up and away but soon the little sparrow realized that they never looked down."

"They forgot about her then?" Sirius felt his smile shift from his face as he listened but his eyes never left Winifred.

"That's what the little sparrow assumed," Winifred continued on, "so she decided she didn't much feel like being a sparrow anymore is sparrows are so easily forgotten. So she spied a mouse near by and decided that is what she would be and she turned into a mouse. She clung to the shadows and watched everyone in silence. She learned and saw many things without anyone ever knowing that she was there."

"Was she happy as a mouse?" asked Sirius.

"No," Winifred replied softly, "because the little mouse soon realized that mice were always caught and always harmed by bigger things. So the mouse became a wolf and no longer needed to be quiet and unnoticed because she was strong and dangerous. The wolf preyed on everything beneath her to make her even stronger and even more dangerous; however none of this made her happy either."

"Why? She didn't have to worry anymore did she?" Sirius continued to question.

"No, but she realized she was a lone wolf and that made her sad. So she saw some humans and decided that's what she would be like because there was so many of them and they all lived together. So the wolf became a human, walking, talking, and living just like all the other humans did."

"And then she found some friends," Sirius guessed at the outcome.

"No," Winifred corrected, "she found that humans only pretend to be close to one another because they are really nothing but lone wolves who hunt the weak or timid mice who spend their lives worrying if they'll be noticed or forgotten sparrows who can't find their ways back to their nests and have no one to look for them."

Sirius felt a knot twisting like a thorny vines within the pit of his stomach as he almost was afraid to ask:

"So what did she do?"

Winifred smiled at Sirius thinly as she met his eyes. Sirius knew she wasn't crying and knew she had no intention to. It was probably for the best because the tragedy he could see behind them was the sort that no amount of tears could ever do justice to. Sighing, Winifred blinked and the tragedy was gone.

"She turned back into a sparrow," Winifred revealed.

"Why did she do that?" Sirius wondered.

"Because, the little sparrow discovered that she could become anything in the world only to eventually realize that everything is miserable. At least, if she stayed a sparrow, she would know what she was. And even though that might not always be the most ideal thing she would always have the certainty of knowing who she was underneath it all," Winifred explained almost with a happy hint to her voice.

"So the little sparrow took flight for the first time in her life and flew up the tree she had fallen from only to find there had never been a nest to return home to. She had never had a mother or a father or brothers or sisters, she had always been the one and only sparrow. And knowing that she was something that unique onto herself made all the difference in the world."

Sirius felt himself sigh, almost in relief at the end of the story as he found himself smiling once more at Winifred.

"That sounds like a happy ending to me," Sirius decided.

"I suppose it does," Winifred agreed before thoughtfully adding, "or at least it has the potential of finding one."

"Well, it's a little bit different from the stories I used to hear a lad," Sirius confessed, "my dad would tell me marvelous tales about gallant adventurers and my eldest sister would give me fairy stories about lovely princesses being saved by dashing princes."

"I never heard those as a child," Winifred divulged.

Sirius looked slightly taken aback by this.

"Really? Those are the best sorts. It's all about how these decent women find themselves in a horrible spot and a noble chap comes along, utterly vanquishes what's been haunting the maiden, and they are both free to fall in love with one another and never have a care again," said Sirius fondly.

Winifred placed a hand on her hip with an amused look.

"And how does ridding off with some boy on his white steed actually solve the princess's problems?" Winifred demanded with a chuckle.

"Perhaps I'm not explaining the 'vanquishing' part of this all that well," Sirius laughed.

"No, what I mean is if the most a woman is expected to do is wait around for some prince to happen by and save her when it occurs to him then she'll be in a lot more trouble than any supposed peril she's presently facing," Winifred clarified with a chuckle, "that's why I never heard those stories."

"Okay then," Sirius gave up, "what stories did you hear?"

"Severus's mother used to tell me about how she'd duel or hex anyone who ever dared to cross her and she never learned how to accept failure, only how to accept setbacks," said Winifred.

Sirius made a face at the mention of such life lessons but simply shrugged it off when he realized that they had arrived at the dungeons.

"Well, I guess this is good night then," Sirius observed the obvious for both their benefit, "want to get together tomorrow for some more studying or whatever?"

"That'll be fine, but if you want a story than I'll expect you to make up one for yourself," Winifred agreed conditionally.

"Fair enough," Sirius nodded.

Sirius might have question if there was something more he had wished he would have said or done with Winifred that moment but the sense of an additional presence compelled him only to glance over his shoulder and observe Snape making his way directly towards himself and Winifred. Sucking in a breath to ready himself for the usually fury of words, Sirius felt his eyes narrow and placed his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't be tempted to use them.

"Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for being out past curfew," Severus informed Sirius with a superior expression that grew even more satisfied as Sirius's became indignant.

"Bullocks to that! I've got three whole minutes by my watch," Sirius argued.

"Perhaps it's fast," Severus offered mockingly before turning to Winifred, "go to bed."

Winifred crossed her arms with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Is that really necessary, Severus?" Winifred questioned.

Severus glared at Winifred with a cold set of eyes.

"Five points from Slytherin for questioning my authority as Prefect," Severus answered.

"It wasn't your position as a Prefect I was questioning," Winifred's voice lowered.

"It's disappointing that you could select no other member of our Year work with on this project aside from him," Severus spoke as though Sirius were not still present, "the last thing you need to have his poor influence rubbing off upon you. Now kindly retire to your dorms for the evening."

"Yes Winifred, you'd best be off to bask in the positive influences of your Slytherin Housemates," Sirius interjected sarcastically, never taking his eyes off Snape, "I can see how your concerned cousin here would greatly prefer you following in the grand footsteps of Mary Tudor and her bunch."

"Did I ask your opinion, Black?" Severus sneered.

"I don't really need your permission to give it, Snape," Sirius replied haughtily.

Growing uncomfortable as she stood between the crossfire, Winifred adjusted her bag over her should.

"Good night, the both of you," Winifred extended before she abandoned the boys.

They barely noticed she had left.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Severus hissed through his teeth.

Sirius smirked mockingly.

"Aren't you the touchy sort," Sirius decided, "I was just seeing her back. Certainly nothing worth you spitting venom over."

"I would be far more put out by all this, Black, if I didn't possess an immense amount of confidence that Winifred wouldn't ever lower herself to sharing your presence past that of a passing amusement," Severus smiled coldly.

"I don't know, mate, you seem pretty put out by a whole lot of nothing to me," Sirius smiled back, "besides, even if there was anything, it's not your place to be bothered. You don't have the same righteously indignant leg to stand on as you did with Florence."

Returning to a deepened scowl, Severus leaned in closer towards Sirius. Sirius didn't budge from his spot on the tile and swore to himself that he would knock Snape a few sections back if he got any closer to him, prefect badge or no.

"And why should I, in any way, approve of someone I consider to be practically a sister sneaking about with the loathsome likes of you?" Severus inquired.

"Because, first off, she's not," Sirius started off, "but, most importantly mind you, my complete and genuine dislike of you does not extend to Winifred. So, my self-absorbed fiend, that would mean that it has absolutely nothing to do with our bad blood and that would make it none of your damn business to protest against."

To Sirius's surprise, Snape began to smile in response to his declaration.

"You know something amusing about your little speech, Black?" Severus questioned a little too happily.

"What?" Sirius spat out the single syllable of the word, tired of the Slytherin's games.

"Well. . .perhaps you'll find as much humor in your words one some later day," Severus grinned like a viper before turning on his heel and striding down the halls back towards the Slytherin dorms.

"I'll look forward to that, you daffy bastard," Sirius muttered under his breath, uncertain of how to react to his nemesis's peculiar behavior.

Heading back to Gryffindor tower, Sirius spied a single bird dart across the sky and wondered what kind it happened to be.

When James reentered the body of the castle he found the torches were lit in the corridors and night had fallen. He kept the book of clipping at the side of his quidditch robes as he walked through them. Judging from the lack of students and faculty passing by about, James could guess it was near curfew if not past.

A voice from confirmed James's suspicions.

"It is a little late for you to be wandering about, isn't it James?" Professor Dumbledore asked over James's shoulder, "I fear you would be in a small amount of trouble if you were caught by someone with disciplinary authority."

James turned fully around. He hadn't been aware that Dumbledore had been behind him but, then again, that wasn't all that much of a surprise to James. In spite of his position as Headmaster, he addressed James without any hint of chiding to his words and made them nothing more than a simple observation as he moved closer to James. James kept the binder held firmly to his side, attempting not to draw any unnecessary attention to it while hoping Dumbledore would not comment upon it.

"So. . .do I have a detention then?" James questioned with a some what indifferent voice. He was far too worn to truly care about such trivial things at the moment.

"Oh no, my boy," Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled from over his half-moon glasses, "I have never considered myself to be much of an authority on discipline, not when it appears to me that people are in more need of a tender hand than a firm fist. In truth, I have found that many people are often far better at punishing themselves than any other soul could manage. . .tragically and ironically these types of people are rarely the ones who deserve such harsh treatment."

"I don't know about that, Professor," James disagreed, "I think there's plenty of perfectly retched people who have little trouble sleeping after all the horrible things they have done in their day. They leave everyone else to worry about the weight of their deeds without a second thought."

"This is very true for some individuals James; although we cannot allow ourselves to feel responsible for the choices others make otherwise such empathy would consume us whole," the venerable Wizard spoke in a gentle voice, "is that what is troubling you, James?"

"I'm just . . . just having one of those lives, Professor," James smiled the same shallow smile that he had been offering everyone else at Hogwarts for nearly a week now.

It didn't seem to want to hold so well with Dumbledore.

"I see," Professor Dumbledore nodded sympathetically, "you know, a great many people have expressed considerable concern for you. Your withdrawn disposition as of late is most uncharacteristic of you James."

James shrugged as he placed his hands into the pockets of his robes.

"Everyone's entitled to a bad spell now and again, I suppose, sir," said James, "it's nothing to worry yourself with considering how much you must have on your mind between the school and Voldemort. I'll be alright, honest."

Pacing off a bit, Professor Dumbledore approached a

"Did you know, James that some witches and wizards have begun to shun the use of Voldemort's name?" Dumbledore inquired curious.

"I know children and some of the Muggle Borns have taken to calling him You-Know-Who or something of the like," James commented, "I figured it was mostly out of ignorance, you know. Superstitious belief and all that."

"Adults are just as capable of ignorance as children, in fact I believe more so," Professor Dumbledore divulged with a slight frown over his face, "with every person afraid to utter Voldemort's name, he is triumphant in a minor victory for his unscrupulous cause. It shows just how much power he has over our world and many aren't even aware that they are providing him with it."

James moved to join Professor Dumbledore at his side, staring at the profile of the wise mentor of Hogwarts.

"How are things going, Professor? The war, I mean," pressed James, "So little is said in the Daily Prophet and I know Hogwarts is safe but I feel cut off from the outside world at times. I'm curious to know how we're fairing against Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

"Things are quiet for the moment. Voldemort's campaign has cost him many dark Wizards, rewarded with death or Azkaban for their service to him. He chose some very powerful . . . very beloved families to act against and the resistance and repercussions of such attacks has greatly thinned his ranks," explained Dumbledore as he turned his eyes on James and found the young man staring at the floor.

"So. . . things are good then?" asked James.

"I said things are quiet James, as they always are before the storm," Professor Dumbledore gently corrected, "Lord Voldemort has lost many of his senior supporters. He had been looking to replenish his ranks with young blood, namely witches and wizards who only just recently finished their training. He exploits their eagerness to prove themselves and their ambitions or resentment for the established order. So many lost and naïve people barely older than yourself following a tyrant's vision."

James thought of people like Tudor, Macnair, Lestrange, and others he shared classes and corridors with, people who would be all to thrilled to hide behind masks as pale as bone and robes as dark as death. Dispensing torment and carnage as though they were walking, childish gods. An ill feeling seized James's stomach as he briefly pondered the damage his own peers could possibly inflict of have inflicted upon them.

James wondered how many people he would call friends would perish to those he had resented since his 1st Year. He additionally wondered if there would be friends who would betray him and people who he had misjudged strive to be redeemed.

"And what would the Ministry have done?" asked James in a hollow note.

"In anticipation for the inevitable strikes Voldemort is rallying to make against us and our ways, the Ministry is entertaining a variety of solutions and measures to come to our aid," Professor Dumbledore informed, "some are promising. . .others are concerning. It concerns me to know that several prominent members within our own faction would resort to means as atrocious as Voldemort and his Death Eaters to assure his downfall. Becoming the things we fear and despise most is never a wise solution."

James felt his head shaking as though it were independent of the rest of hit body.

"Death Eaters are nothing more generous that fools and sadists," James spat hatefully. He knew he had heard everything Dumbledore had just said and he wanted to agree with it but James just couldn't muster the will. Four years of his life felt as though they had been ripped from him and replaced with some dark and twisted rendition of the way everything was meant to be.

"The first thing I'll do after Hogwarts, after I become an Auror, will be to round up every last one of those death dealers and that monster leading them. I'll make sure they pay with interest for all the hearts they've broken, souls they've torn, and lives they've stolen. They want to eat death? I'll give them enough to choke on!"

James's breathing was ragged through his mouth as he just kept glaring at the floor in front of him. He didn't want to look at Professor Dumbledore or anyone he respected or loved. The rage and malice he was feeling was something he couldn't bare for those he cared most for to see reflected in his eyes. James hadn't realized he had been trembling with his seething anger until Dumbledore placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Myself and the Ministry will have a great use for your intelligence, skill, and determination in the future James, however I can find no value in your vengeance. I realize how hard it is to maintain honor when it appears we have to little to remain righteous for, but you do have things, James. A good name, loyal friends, fond admirers, and at least one person who genuinely loves you," Professor Dumbledore reminded James of the sorts if things that should never remain long forgotten, "the pain you feel will never leave you James, but it will diminish. And I fear that it will never do so simply on its own. The most you can ever do for these sorts of feelings is repress or ignore them until they resurface at inopportune occasions for inappropriate amounts of time."

"So you think I should talk to someone about . . .about my family's death?" James wondered in a voice that showed he didn't sound all that fond of pursuing such a suggestion.

"Yes, I do," Dumbledore nodded as a show of agreement, "however, I think you need to talk to someone who is willing to listen to what you have to say as I suspect that you haven't always found this in the past."

"Someone like you?" James guessed.

"I would be willing to if that is what you desire James, although I feel there are people aside from myself who not only wish to share your life but its burdens as well. Those sorts of rapports. . . those sorts of people are who help us meet each day and find something worthwhile to be had from it. They are the ones who support us when we find ourselves not strong enough to support ourselves," Professor Dumbledore spoke in genuine heartfelt belief.

"I understand what you mean, Professor," James replied in a soft voice, "you wouldn't be offended if I returned to Gryffindor Tower now, would you? You see, I think there is someone who has been waiting far too long and far too patiently to listen to me."

"Not at all James, provided you promise to seek solace somehow in the sorrow you carry," Dumbledore smiled to James in a mixture of encouragement and sympathy.

"I intend to," James promised, "Good evening, Professor."

"And a better one to you, James."

Lily was fairly confident that the last of her charges were on their back in the dorms before curfew when Sirius sauntered into Gryffindor Tower five minutes past the hour.

"Hullo Lily," Sirius greeted, "seen James about?"

"No," Lily's expression drooped, "I was hoping you might know. He's not in the tower and the last anyone saw of him was during Quidditch practice."

"Isn't that a funny sort of thing," Sirius apparently refused to share Lily's distress on the matter but taking note of his he kindly added, "I wouldn't worry about it luv. I didn't see him at dinner so he might be wrangling some food from the kitchen or went out to Hogsmeade for a break in routine. He's been like some super-student this week. Might be taking the edge off."

"Maybe," Lily considered without enthusiasm, "he was supposed to meet up with me though."

"I'm sure he's on his way," Sirius smiled as he ruffled Lily's long hair, "James isn't thick enough to leave a pretty girl waiting. He knows that's an invitation for me to just snatch her clean up."

"Fresh," Lily said dryly but found herself smiling a bit at Sirius's always playful show of flirting.

"Well I try," Sirius nodded, "see you in the morning."

"You too, Sirius."

Disappearing up the stairs, Lily trailed in a dragging pace up to the girls dormitories. Entering into the 6th Year area, Lily motioned for Cassidy to join her in the hallway for a moment. Obliging, the tall girl followed Lily out in her baggy dress pajamas.

"What's up?" Cassidy questioned as she tightened the drawstrings of her pants over her hips.

"I just wanted to apologize for not being able to investigate that thing you asked me to last week," Lily said purposefully cryptically, "I've just been very preoccupied with. . . well, I don't want to make excuses so I'll just say that I intend to put my efforts into it straight away."

"Huh?" Cassidy stared at the rambling Prefect dumbly before she caught on, "oh, yeah yeh can forget about that."

"Pardon?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, never mind," Cassidy said as she patted Lily on the shoulder, "don't put yerself out."

"What – it's not a problem for me, really," Lily rephrased, "I'm more than willing to help you out - "

"And yeh'd be doing that best by not helping me out," Cassidy clarified, "the thing of it is Lily is I just probably made myself very unpopular with some Slytherins and Hufflepuffs this afternoon and the last thing I need is them getting wind of any sensitive underbelly I might possess. I shouldn't be looking fer anything now. . .not with my marks being so mediocre and if I decided teh I should be woman enough teh look fer it myself."

Lily scratched her head as she wondered when this all came about.

"What about Wilkes?" Lily inquired, "did something happen to discourage you there?"

"No, I still think she's pretty interesting, but I don't really know her so there's not a whole lot of love lost there. If something happens, it will but there's no sense in me leaping out on limbs until I know what I'm reaching fer," Cassidy shrugged ambivalently, "I just want teh have something worthwhile if I'm going teh make a spectacle of myself. Maybe that's Wilkes. . . maybe that's someone else."

Lily felt herself smiling at this epiphany of Cassidy's.

"That's always been something endearing of you, Cassidy," Lily remarked, "your honest with everyone, most of all yourself."

"Yeah well don't pat me on the back to hard," Cassidy smirked, "if I was so bloody honest we wouldn't be whispering in the hall like a couple scoundrels in the night."

"Fair enough," Lily chuckled before she got something of a serious expression on her face, "you haven't seen James have you? I mean since quidditch?"

Cassidy's expression became suddenly stony.

"Ah, no one mentioned it teh yeh yet yeh poor lass," Cassidy sighed, not wishing to be the harbinger of bad news.

"What is it?" Lily pressed.

"Tudor and Lestrange had some help from Travers in messing about with James," Cassidy explained through a frown, "they sent him something that _really_ upset him."

"What?" Lily demanded, eyes wide.

"Dunno," Cassidy admitted, sounding a bit disappointed with herself, "I think yeh should talk with him though if yeh don't mind my saying so."

"We were supposed to . . ." Lily divulged, "I should probably wait for him in my room."

"Okay," Cassidy replied simply as she and Lily parted ways.

Taking the steps quickly to the Prefect's chambers, Lily opened her door and found James standing off by her dresser flipping intently through some sort of make-shift book. He was only aware of her presence when she shut the door behind her. Looking up, James placed the book down on the dresser.

Lily had never seen James look more horrible in all their times together, even when he had stayed awake for three days straight and was completely ragged over the future of their relationship. His eyes had dark circles and were puffy as though he decided to cry for a week in the stead of sleep. He was pale and his hair was horribly unkempt, even for James.

"Hey," James greeted weakly.

"Hey," Lily returned softly.

"We should talk," James decided.

"We should," Lily agreed.

Peter exited the bathroom connecting off from the 6th Year Boys' dorm and found Remus and Sirius pulling their pajamas on while trading various tales concerning their day. Giving them matching dirty looks, Peter stomped over to his corner of the room and placed his sundries into their appropriate places. Remus evidently caught the glare as he took his attentions off Sirius to eye his friend.

Sensing Remus's amber eyes, Peter addressed his roommates.

"Well I hope the pair of you are satisfied," said Peter in a low voice. Both his arms and tone were completely cross as he stared at Remus and Sirius.

"What did we do NOW?" Sirius laughed to Remus as he kicked his book bag off his bed. Remus shrugged in response while kicking off his slippers.

"Don't tell me your still mad at us because YOU decided it would be right fun to set of a crate of filibusters in a brush and got a detention for it," Remus muttered.

"That's not it at all!" Peter shook his head with a scowl, "since I have the luxury of not being distracted by anything or anyone I'm just irked beyond cause because I'm the only one who's been able to notice just how sorry a state our supposed friendships are in!"

Sirius stopped laughing as the smile fell off his face like a flat note on the piano. Remus's brow began to knit itself in mounting concern. Peter managed the full attention of the two other Gryffindor boys rather effectively.

"Peter, is this because the lot of us have girlfriends and you don't?" Remus questioned in a sympathetic voice. Sirius shot Remus a standoffish glare.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Sirius remarked.

Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"No, the only thing you DON'T have is a lack of denial," Remus insisted, "you're just being your usual cheeky self on the matter of Wilkes. We're all just waiting for you to get the Owl along with the rest of us. My guess is Wilkes also."

Sirius threw his arms into the air and began to stomp about like a child throwing a tantrum over everyone ignoring what he was saying.

"Nous sommes les amis justes. Wir sind grechte Freunde. We. Are. Just. Friends. I can't get any more bloody clear than that since I don't know any other languages!" Sirius announced in a riled and sarcastic voice with a gesture in Peter's direction, "now drop the subject before you get ol' Wormtail off and running on his usual rant of Winifred being Medusa with flattering make-up."

Peter raised his wand and emitted a sharp crack of sound along with a flare of light to catch both Remus's and Sirius's attention.

"Bugger off, you narcissist! This has NOTHING to do with the ASTONDING life and times of Sirius Black," Peter barked at Sirius shortly, before turning his eyes on Remus, "And this isn't about getting you all putting-on a pity party for poor, pathetic Peter Pettigrew!"

Sirius gaped at Peter with an impressed expression.

"Bloody Hell! Say that ten times fast, mate!" Sirius grinned, but abruptly stopped once he saw Peter's scowl.

"This is about James," Peter finished, evidently not too happy with the frequent interruptions.

"But James has a girlfriend," Sirius pointed out dumbly, missing whatever Peter was going for with this.

"ARE YOU NATURALLY THIS THICK OR DO YOU PRACTICE IN YOUR SPARE TIME!" Peter began pitching anything close to him, from pillows to books, in Sirius's direction. Jumping around to avoid being pelted, Sirius stared in surprise at Peter's outburst as Remus crossed the room and began fighting Peter for an alarm clock he was aiming at Sirius.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Remus commanded as he won out in the struggle, "you're acting mad, Peter! What are you going on about?"

"I'm just GLAD James does have Lily," Peter's face was red and breathing labored as the started to storm about the room as he ranted. Sirius and Remus kept their eyes glued to their friend just in case he decided on making some more make-shift projectiles out of the items in their room.

Stopping suddenly, Peter pointed accusingly at Sirius

"As of this moment, Prongs could have greatly used his _best friend_ to get him to crack a smile or otherwise take his mind off his troubles, but you were too busy getting that – that BLASE HARPY to cackle to even notice!" Peter shouted before turning his finger on Remus, "and YOU, you're so content on creating a reputation for public indecency with Arabella so as to fill the hedonistic void Sirius left when he started chasing down snakes that your much needed insight and comforting words are completely lost to James!"

Sirius blinked, stunned by these words so much that he was compelled to silence for the moment. Remus's expression would have probably been much the same if Peter had decided to slap him in the face. After a brief pause, it occurred to Sirius and Remus that they should be outraged.

"HOLD ON THERE!" Remus felt his temper waning, "Where do you get off talking to EITHER of us like that?"

"YEAH!" Sirius leapt in, "and we all know there's not a THING IN CREATION large enough to challenge my colossal ego when it comes to women. Now what the HELL has gotten into YOU?"

Peter upturned his nose with disgust.

"Did it thoroughly slip both your minds as to what this time of the year means to James?" Peter demanded with a mixture of exasperation and disappointment.

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances before each slowly dawned a realizing expression. Promptly after, the two boys looked as put out and ashamed as Peter.

"That's right," Peter nodded bitterly, "James's whole family died four years ago around this time. Every last Potter killed off in one short week . . . starting with his parents."

In a show of frustration, Sirius kicked his foot into the closest wall and made a feral noise. Remus sank onto the closest bed, putting his head into his hands in order to cover the suddenly nauseous expression on his face.

"Haven't either of you noticed James has barely slept lately?" Peter questioned, "he just sits up, staring out the window or will sneak down to the commons to read or just pace. He's been killing himself with grief!"

Sharing a chalk white complexion, Remus and Sirius turned to one another.

"Bloody hell," Sirius moaned through clenched teeth, "do you have _any_ idea where he is now?"

Peter shook his head. Remus pushed himself onto his feet and began to ransack the room.

"Where did we put that _damn map of ours_…" Remus demanded as he rummaged through his draws.

Peter and Sirius joined their friend in his scouring until the found the single piece of parchment next to James's invisibility cloak. Activating the paper with Sirius's wand, the lay out of the castle showed that James was with Lily Evans in the Gryffindor Prefect's bedroom.

"So what do we do? Try to talk to him now?" Sirius asked with uncertainty.

"I don't know. Maybe he's talking with Lily," Remus commented, "if he is then she deserves to be with him more than either of us does. Arabella mentioned to be that Lily's been pretty concerned about him this afternoon but I haven't even seen James since then."

"At least you had good intentions. I've been so busy listening to Winifred's problems and quarrelling with Snape I didn't even notice," Sirius admitted with a kicked dog expression, "Not that it's an excuse for either of us. Peter's right; we've been just ignoring each other in favor of our own lives. God, I knew people said that growing older and getting girls changes your friendships but I never thought it would happen to us. At least we have Wormtail here to remind us of what it means to be a good friend to someone otherwise we'd still be fishing our heads out of each others arses on this."

"Never take friendships for granted," Peter sighed, "not like they grow on trees."

"Well at least someone here gets that," Remus nodded mournfully.

Lily and James stood facing one another in silence. It was as though they were so out of the habit of speaking that they had forgotten how to start. It was James who finally remembered.

"You know, I haven't been all that nice to you lately," James confessed self-consciously.

"No, you haven't," Lily agreed gently, "but I'd like to suspect you had your reasons."

"Sort of," James hung his head, "if – if it makes any difference at all, it's not as though I was setting out to hurt you. Just sort of ended up that way."

"I guessed as much," Lily nodded as she approached him, "so are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?"

James nodded in agreement but said nothing. Starting to bite his nails, James paced the room growing more ridged and anxious with each lap. It was as though he believed something bad would happen if he attempted to relax. Lily crossed over to him and attempted to hold him in place physically by the shoulders while looking into his face.

"James, what is? Why are you wound up like this?" Lily's voice trembled.

She hadn't seen James this distraught . . . this beside himself and restless for such a long time. It seemed like Lily should have a better memory of this but she couldn't quite grasp what it was she seemed to be recalling.

James took in a sharp break that sounded like he was close to hyperventilating. Lily kept her hands on him in case he collapsed, hoping she would be able to support his weight if he did. She could feel him shaking beneath her grasp.

"I'm just. . . I thought I could handle it you know. . .I thought it was like all the other times . . .if I just was on my own for a while. . .and tucked it away then . . . then I'd go back to normal," James spoke with loud gasps of air splintering his sentence, "but it's not. . .I just kept feel worse . . . and then it was a week and . . . and I didn't know what to do anymore. And then I got that and . . ."

James thrust his hand out towards the book he had carried in with him, not bothering to finish his sentence. It was more than obvious the effect it had had upon him.

"James, please sit down," Lily begged as she attempted to lead James over to her bed.

He didn't resist her efforts but he was far too agitated to be particularly helpful in going along with her. Sitting stiffly on the edge, Lily left him there so she could retrieve the binder he had indicated. Opening it to a random part, Lily read.

**FORTUNE ASSURED BUT FATE UNCERTAIN FOR SOLE -SURVIVING 12 YEAR OLD POTTER HEIR – WHERE WILL IT END?**

Lily felt her breath literally stolen from her as she stared blankly at the book.

THIS was what Lestrange and Tudor decided to send James? Lily was flabbergasted and close to seeing red. She knew the couple was cruel to the point of being utterly unconscionable but this was beyond anything Lily would have given either the credit of.

It was in such poor taste Lily could retch.

If either Tudor or Lestrange had been there, Lily was sure she would have seriously attempted to hurt the both of them. Attempting to tame her rage, Lily doubted that seething over and ranting about the scrupulous Slytherins would do nothing to help James as it was obvious he wasn't angry.

He was traumatized.

"James, I'm so sorry you had to look at this," Lily apologized even though she was not at fault, "this. . . it's just horrible."

"It certainly wasn't what I expected to encounter," James admitted, finally finding an even spacing to his breaths, "but I'm sort of glad I did. It forced me to acknowledge something that I really don't like to whenever I'm confronted with it."

Lily set the binder back down on her dresser and joined James on the bed.

"You mean. . . talking about what happened to your family," Lily guessed in a careful voice.

"Yeah," James nodded.

"I rarely speak of them . . . and when you actually do, you're always so quick to get off topic," Lily observed. She hoped that this was encouraging James rather than giving him the impression that she was attempting to badger information out of him. She pulled his clammy hand into hers and squeezed it supportively.

"It always felt so empty when I did. People would always tell me how sorry they were and make guesses at how hard it was on me. After that they would start going on about how upset I should be. . . it was always too hard for me to try and keep on talking. It was like they wanted me to say what I was thinking and feeling but when I did, it became so uncomfortable for everyone they just wanted to hurry it along," James rationalized in a faltering voice, "it got to the point where I didn't want to bring it up because I thought no one really wanted me to. That they just wanted me to grin and bare."

"I'll be here for you however you need me to be, James," Lily vowed, unsure of what else to say.

"Could you . . . could you listen to me?" asked James softly, looking at Lily straight on. Tears brimmed within his eyes, just behind the frames of his glasses as he bit into his lip to keep it from quivering uncontrollably, "Could you listen to me and not tell me how sorry you are or how much you admire me for handling it? Could you not express any sympathy or offer any words meant to comfort me? I'd like it very much if you'd just listen to me for a while."

"I can do that for you," Lily agreed, willing herself not to start crying as well. This was about James and she feared that if she began shedding her own tears for James he would attempt to comfort her and that was not the point of this moment.

This was James's moment.

"I was at school when my parents died, during out 2nd Year," James began the obvious story from his often neglected perspective, "It was right after spring holiday. I had just seen them not even a week before. It was impossible for me to believe. I just remember packing up some things for the next few days with Sirius, Peter, and Remus talking about how sorry they were and how they wanted to help me in any way they could. The thing was, I was carrying on as normal. Cracking jokes and making dull conversation. That's how impossible it all seemed to me at the time. I seriously got on the train back to London thinking that this wasn't really happening. Like it was a dream or a mistake and everything would sort itself out once I was at London."

James closed his eyes for a long period.

"Funny how the mind plays tricks on you like that," he sighed.

The events of the end of 2nd Year replayed themselves for Lily's benefit. Everyone in Gryffindor had learned of James's loss and everyone attempted to lend their support as they could. Lily was mostly socializing with the other girls in their Year as was the usual arrangement for most children their age but she had still known James and liked him enough to worry on his behalf. Lily remembered how numb James had seemed as he left. Not sad or broken . . . but not entirely there either.

Shaking his head, James picked up with his story.

"My aunts and uncles and cousins all took me back to my family manor where my grandparents were waiting for me. My parents' bodies were there as well, in our family crypt where all the remains of Potters are placed to rest with words and pictures honoring their lives. This way our family could pay final respects to our loved ones before they were placed on a consecrated pyre."

Lily remembered that Wizards almost always favored a ritualistic form of cremation to deal with the dead. It prevented any flesh or bones of loved ones to be desecrated or used for dark magic. Reanimating corpses, demonic possessions, tormenting souls, and other countless atrocities were possible if a dark wizard had access to person's departed body. Nothing caused a bereaving family more grief that they were already experiencing than not being able to properly disposing of a corpse and being left to wonder what was being done with it.

Somewhere in the front of Lily's mind, James continued to speak.

"I'm not entirely sure I said anything while we were in the house and waiting for everyone else to arrive but the rest of y family wouldn't stop talking. It was like some horrible white noise that just wouldn't end. I just sat in the room listening to the senseless, meaningless talk around me until I couldn't stomach it any longer. I excused myself for the bathroom or some other lie and went out the crypt without saying a word of it."

James swallowed hard with a glazed look to his eye.

"I wanted to be where it was quiet and I knew my parents wouldn't say a single word to me again."

Lily realized that she was holding her breath. Forcing her lungs to work again properly, Lily felt a cold sweat running down her back and shivered from it.

Or, possibly, from something else.

"My parents were laid out and dressed up properly. There's always an attempt to make the dead appear decent and peaceful before they leave this world completely. We couldn't even do that for my parents," James recalled in a hollow pitch, "there wasn't a mark on them but their expression. . . it was like their souls had been pulled from them and they knew it was happening. Someone had used an unforgivable curse upon my parents and there was no magic that could reverse any part of that. Still, I say between the slabs they were laid out upon and held their hands. I don't think I cried then. . .I don't really think I did much of anything then. . .I just sat with my Mum wondering what it would be like never to hear her hum while she read the paper in the morning or trying to decide how much I'd miss my Dad attempting to tell me boring and dated stories about what things were like for him at Hogwarts."

James shifted on the bed as he struggled with the simple act of breathing in and out.

"After a few hours, the rest of the family finally tracked me down and we burned the bodies of my parents. I cried throughout the entire ceremony and didn't stop for several days. Not to eat. . .not to sleep . . .nothing."

Lily felt a few stray tears run off her cheek. She quickly swept them away with one of her hands so James wouldn't notice as she continued to listen.

"After that incident, my aunts and uncles didn't want me to be there for the will reading so I came back to school. They thought I couldn't handle the process of redistributing my parents' belongings and determining who would take custody of me," James recollected himself and continued on, "In truth, they were probably right. I don't think I could have handled it. It would have been so. . .so absolute. Like the final confirmation of how my parents were dead and I would never see them again."

James licked his lips as he hesitated.

"The Prophet called what happened next the 'methodical assassination of a predominant line'. You see, my parents' deaths were only meant to be bait. To draw out every last Potter into one location and then. . . then blow that place up with all of them together. It's really quite clever if you think about it. I mean all the adults of my line would be at the law offices so it was a way for those Death Eaters to make sure that everyone was gone in one single swoop when no one was expecting it. Who would be so awful and heartless to murder a room full of people just after a funeral? Death Eaters is seems."

James chuckled without humor then another pause.

"But I think. . . I think the worst was when my cousins were killed. The younger ones I mean," James said finally.

He stared out emptily at the floor in front of him. A fresh collection of sweat beaded his forehead. Lily sat silently, waiting for James to continue when he was comfortably enough to. Finally blinking after the longest time, James picked up where he had left off.

"I was the only one receiving my formal schooling at Hogwarts. Those who had graduated before me died at the will reading. The ones who would have been admitted were at their preparatory schools and with their tutors. The Ministry had so little time to react. Investigating my parents' deaths. . .their murders. . .trying to figure out what had happened at the will reading and who had been there . . .in a day Death Eaters swept across Britain and killed every last Potter and the only reason they missed me was because I was at Hogwarts. I had fourteen cousins who were no older than eleven."

It appeared as though James stopped breathing all together for a moment before he added on.

"They slaughtered children who didn't even have wands."

Lily could think of nothing to do other than squeeze James's hand supportively and stare at him without an idea of what else to do. All Lily could think of was to keep listening in silence as it was all James had asked of her and any words that came to her mind at that moment were hollow and trite.

"When I heard that everyone in my family was dead, I was so angry," James admitted in a barely audible voice. As though it were some shameful secret, "Not so much because they were all taken from me . . . no, I was furious because no one saw fit to finish the job properly. I wanted to die with the rest of my family."

Lily's jaw dropped.

She was fairly sure that she was going to say something to this but James cut her off before she even had the chance.

"IT WASN'T FAIR!" James spat out in a rage that died like a candle in the wind. He relaxed slightly, evidently without the will to keep hold of that instant anger, before repeating,

"It wasn't fair. They killed everyone who had ever mattered to me. . . everyone who loved me without my ever having to earn or work for it. All but me died. It was like I was being punished worst of all because I was the only one left to mourn everyone else the world would turn on without. It's like the fact that no one has seen fit to come along and kill me off too in four years makes me think that this is just what they set out to do. Just to be the last Potter and have that knowledge. . .I'd welcome death to that."

Lily felt herself blinking back tears in violent precession. She felt completely ineffectual at the moment as she knew there was nothing she had to offer James that would ever repair the damage of this situation. All of her love and support could never deliver James from his past and Lily couldn't be sure it would ever be enough to help him through it. She knew James wasn't intending to make her feel any of these things but it was inevitable when as she sat there and listened to the man she loved carry on about his preference of death.

"James I never knew you felt any of these things. . . how do you do this?" Lily softly asked in concern and admiration, "how do you carry all this inside you and go on?"

Instead of answering her, James began to shake as though he were suddenly freezing. He hugged himself so tight Lily thought for certain that he was bruising himself. James began to make odd noises, as though he were about to be sick.

"I SHOULD HAVE DIED WITH THEM!" James sobbed as he started to break down at the seams, "Some times it feels like I can't breathe and I would hope I'll just stop altogether so I wouldn't have to realize how alone I am. But I'd just keep going on and all these people, Dumbledore, the Longbottoms, the Blacks, they watch out for me and protect me and I wished they would. . . THEY WOULD JUST LET ME DIE!"

Collapsing into himself, James covered his faced with his hands. Tears spilled over his glasses and his body shook violently as choking noises came out as broken and weak as the boy emitting them. Lily couldn't contain herself anymore either. Silently crying, Lily draped her arms around James's body, placing her head against this back. If he felt her presence, he didn't acknowledge it. James just continued to cry and Lily continued to hold him.

Lily felt foolish for ignoring this part of James. He always passed himself off as so carefree and on top of the world that it was hard for Lily to remember just how hard and cold life could be for James. She guessed a part of her wanted to believe that James was adjusted to his being orphaned, that he had made peace with his misfortune. After all, it wasn't as though he acted like he was plagued by it. She was ashamed for believing such an absurd notion and allowed James to just bury his loneliness and suffering underneath some merry façade.

James was tearing himself apart from the inside out and Lily was smiling along because it was simply more convenient for her to have a happy boyfriend than a human one.

After what could have been minutes or hours to Lily, she felt James touch her arm with his hand. Pulling away slowly, Lily looked towards James's face and waited for him to look back at her. James removed his smudged and soaked glasses and focused his blurry, wet eyes on hers.

"I don't. . . I don't feel that way anymore. Every year after. . . it got a bit easier to cope with . . . to live with. I mean, at least I want to live," assured James as be brought his hand to Lily's face, "this year especially and I think that has a lot to do with you."

"I haven't done anything," Lily's splintered voice insisted, wet and dry all at once from her own emotions and crying, "I never even bother to ask you about things like your family or how you feel about all of it."

James just started to shake his head to this.

"That's not what I want. . . it's not what I need," James explained, "I haven't just been filling my hours with senseless pranks and redundant lessons this year. I spent half of it falling in love with you and the other half appreciating just how wonderful that is. It's a better reason to want to live on than some stupid surname or bloodline."

Lily felt herself begin to cry again but not for the same reasons she had started out with.

James smiled.

It was the first smile he hadn't forced to the surface in days.

The kind of smile only a person who meant as much as Lily Evans did to James Potter could ever have a hope of drawing out.

"Sometimes. . . one person can be enough to make you want to make everything keep on going if even for just one day," James decided.

Although she questioned whether or not it was appropriate, Lily brought her face closer to James's. He sighed and closed his eyes, preparing for the imminent kiss. Not wanting James to feel as though she were trying to silence him, Lily pressed her lips softly to him, so gentle their presence was barely noticeable. She lingered in that position, unwilling to advance things. She wanted James to lead since he was the vulnerable one and couldn't bear to do anything that might be considered a pressure to him.

James appeared to be content with the simple, casual embrace as his lips caressed her own in gentle, uncertain efforts. After a moment of this polite kissing James seemed to grow either comfortable or confident enough to part his mouth open and take Lily's in the manner she was more accustom to within their relationship.

Holding each other in a grasp best described as anxious, Lily and James remained locked at the mouths with time escaping them as it had when James had collapsed into sobs. There wasn't the usual passion or playfulness of any other time the two had found themselves in one another's arms, mouths, and hearts. Everything was slow and purposeful, painfully considerate and expressing the entirety of their need for one another at that moment or any other.

Under different circumstances it would have been astonishing.

Under these circumstances it was still astonishing.

Finding themselves laying side by side, prompt up on the pillows against the head of the bed, the kissing slowly began to taper off as Lily and James found themselves mostly holding and gazing upon one another in a comfortable silence. Tracing his fingers across her face and trailing them down her long neck, James found the chain to the locked he had given her earlier in the year. Gently he tugged it free from beneath her blouse and reread the inscription he had placed upon it without the benefit of his glasses which he hadn't bother to replace after removing.

"_To Lily Evans; Prefect, train riding poet, and gazer of stars Officially and unofficially yours, James Potter"_

"I always wear it," Lily breathed against the silence.

James smiled slightly. It was obvious that meant a great deal to him.

"I don't think I ever told you what Deperire meant," James stated thoughtfully, still looking at the face of the locket.

"Oh yes," Lily recalled him mentioning the word a few months ago but it never occurred to her to ask about it. It sounded like a meaningful word the way James spoke of it.

"I means _'to be hopelessly in love'_," James said as he looked away from the trinket and upon Lily's face.

"I am, you know. That's what it feels like. Just this . . . this force upon me that completely irresistible and utterly irreparable to everything in its wake. My parents told me it was the only way people in my family knew how to love someone and it would be so overwhelming and completing. It wasn't until this moment that I really could understand what they meant by such a thing taking hold of my life. But here I am, hopelessly in love with you and it's the only way I know how to do it."

Fondly James kissed Lily's forehead.

"I guess we're just both going to have to live with that."

Lily nodded as she squeezed James tighter to her body, burying her face into his shoulder and neck.

"I love you so much, James, just know that always no matter how bad things may seem or whatever else is going on in your life. Just know that there's no magic strong enough in the world to change that and no person powerful enough to take it away," Lily assured in a soft voice as he pulled away to look upon James's face, "in the meantime, is there anything I can do to make this night and all the ones that have troubled you make you know that you're not making your way thought this life alone?"

With his hand still cradling Lily's locket and his eyes meeting hers, James wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell her to be there for him always. To love him and comfort him in moments like these. To allow him to always be close to her and always have the opportunity to care for her. To let her be everything worth valuing in his life.

He wanted to ask her all these things but mainly he wanted Lily to allow him to make love to her. It was a chance to forget his grief and let something meaningful to consume him and retreat into pure bliss with the woman he loved and the only reason he could think of at times that gave life a purpose to live on for.

James said nothing.

He knew if he asked, Lily would agree and then he would never know if she had expressed it out of love or had accommodated him out of pity. Even James would not be certain if he had sought such an intimate embrace in the name of love or for the sake of escape. Though his desperation called for it, James refused to indulge such a simple solution that would invite only more complicated problems after.

"Could you tell me a story?" James wondered aloud.

He adjusted himself to rest his head upon her shoulder and hugged her desperately toward him. It wasn't as intimate as he had originally desired to be next to Lily's form but it was still wonderful. He relaxed slightly as he felt Lily's warm gentle hands tenderly caressing him as a show of comfort as Lily hugged him back.

"What kind of story?" Lily asked as she brushed James's black bangs from his face. They were soaked with his tears.

"Something happy," James murmured his plea into the folds of her clothing and waves of auburn hair.

"Okay," Lily agreed, thinking quietly to herself as she sought a happy story to tell in spite of how much sorrow she felt.

"Once upon a time, I met you. You were brilliant, talented, charming, and funny. I always liked you as a friend because you were wonderful I wasn't old enough to appreciate how handsome you were or how grand it would be to snog you. Then, one day between 5th and 6th Year, I no longer looked at you as a friend but as someone who made my heart skip out of beat every time we crossed paths after a summer day outside a Quidditch store on Daigon Alley. I came to like you more and more everyday and even began to cherish all your flaws as much as I would your virtues. It was only a short time later before I couldn't help but fall in love with you and still love you now. But I can't tell you the ending."

"Why not?" James asked as he placed his hand to Lily's chin, turning it gently so he could see her face as she spoke.

"Because there isn't one," Lily smiled with a shrug as she gazed lovingly at James through emerald eyes, "I'll just keep on loving you as much as I do now until I find a reason to love you even more. . . which will probably happen every day. And someday from now, I'll love you so much that the only sane thing either of us can do is get married and make it so we never have to worry about us being apart again. And you won't be the only Potter anymore because I'll be with you. After that, just when I thought it wasn't possible for me to love you anymore, we'll have a child that will be an embodiment of the very best either of us could hope to manage and proof of our love with every breath it breathes. Then there will be more Potters who all love each other and will never be left alone again. So there is no ending because everyone keeps on loving one another so much that no one could ever put a stop to it no matter how hard they tried. And those who die will not be alone and will always be remembered with love and those who live will never be alone and will always be looked upon with love as well. So that all there is to it really."

"I like that story. Would you tell it again?"

"I love you, James."

"I love you, Lily,"

"It sounds really good when you tell it to," said Lily as she kissed James again.


	35. A Sirius Perspective

A Sirius Perspective

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: jkit10

Unlike some people, I'm a morning person.

Well actually, I'm a morning, afternoon, evening, and a _"dear Merlin hasn't he worn himself out yet?"_ person but I just try to keep my spirits up.

Some mornings I like to wake up before the rest of the chaps I share a room with and crawl into their beds, effectively cuddling with them and waiting for them to wake up and notice.

To day I selected my best mate in the whole wide world James Potter to have the honor of spooning with me.

It took him five minutes and two "mm Lily's" to wake up and kick me onto the floor bellowing something I couldn't hear over my own laughter. This woke up Remus and Peter who were muffling their own laughter with their pillows as James and I carried on like this a bit more.

Still, James is having fun with it.

I felt horrible about neglecting our friendship earlier this week and allowing him to sulk off and brood on the death of his family because I couldn't be bothered enough to pull my head out of my arse long enough to notice this. I've been trying to make up for it without over doing it. I've committed myself mostly to the types of jokes that allows James to yell at me while laughing about it. This way he's venting some of his frustrations while having a good time. Not to say I'm incapable of offering sound and sympathetic support if my friends, but my forte has always been rooted in getting people to laugh off their troubles than it has been talking them through it.

That's what we have Remus and his infinite wisdom for just as we have Peter to . . .

. . .Well I imagine we'll want snacks now and again.

Once we've finished in waking up all of the boys' dorms most likely we head off towards the bath and get ourselves in proper order for the day ahead. A casual attire matches our casual mood seeing as it's Saturday and we collect the girls to head off to breakfast.

An interesting thing I've picked up on with James and Lily is they always great one another like it's been ages since they've last set eyes on the other. It's never that deep or showy couple work where they're exchanging deep kisses or have to constantly be in bodily contact. Far more subtle forces are at work with those two.

Like how they always speak to each other in these even tones through unfaltering smiles. Eyes constantly meeting and lingering as if to express something far deeper than words could give credit to. The way James will push Lily's hair off her face or how Lily will take James's glasses off his face to polish up the lens. It's the little ways they take care of one another like that which make me believe that two of my closest friends have found true love in the other.

Its little things like that which make me wonder if I'll ever know something so natural and fulfilling.

Bully to anyone who doesn't find themselves a bit jealous over sodding soulmates finding each other while you're still working out how to maneuver a bra one-handed. Not that I'm not happy for James but lets just say I wouldn't be broken up over the idea of making him shoot tea through his nasal cavity this morning after a precisely delivered punch line.

Breakfast has always been the most important meal of the day in my opinion. Without large portions of food smothered in syrup I imagine I wouldn't have the energy needed to be nearly as obnoxious as I usually set out to be.

"So what's the plot for today?" I question as I add both sugar cubes and honey to my morning tea.

"We probably should study up for finals," Lily recommended.

Its comments like that which make me somewhat grateful things never developed beyond a friendship between me and Lily.

"Well I've got a practice scheduled for the House team in the early afternoon so if you had something in mind specifically, we'll have to do it either before or after," James announced to either myself or Lily, I wasn't too clear on whom exactly.

"I don't really care what we're up to so long as we're all together," I express with lingering guilt from my prior neglect.

"Weathers not too shabby," Peter pointed out, "we could go out by the lake as a group."

"Ha! Last time we all did that Lily bloodied James's nose," Arabella said reminiscently, before turning to me, "and you and I were plotting on how to snatch them up for ourselves."

Arabella and I share a hearty chuckle over our previous ploys with Peter, Lily, and James carrying on with us. I notice Remus smiling but he doesn't seem nearly as amused as the lot of us. I guess he didn't find it to be particularly funny because Arabella was chasing after James and the whole thing was a mess in general still Remus has been a little. . .touchy as of late.

Since my utter dropping of the quaffle with James and what was troubling him I've made a deliberate point to keep myself far more attentive of the moods of those around me and Remus was the first to strike me as behaving a bit odd. He's had a shorter temper than usual, been acting more secretive than I've known him to be along with stirring up things with various boys around school.

While this is all in a days work for me I expect better of Moony.

If I had to label it, I'd say Remus was acting threatened. I'd ask him what was provoking it but I know exactly what it is.

Arabella Figg.

Not that she's doing anything purposefully, mind you, it's just the sordid repercussion of being a chap's steady when he's mad about her. Couples are always territorial. While Lestrange and Tudor love to bring their refined psychotic undertones to this notion, Lily and James have managed a bit healthier display of this tendency.

James gets bothered when he catches some bloke looking Lily up and down. Most of the time he just likes to laugh it off as being flattered that he'd dating someone so desired. This is almost always Lily's reaction to such things also. In other cases James'll usually content himself with a healthy amount of glaring and mouthing things that shouldn't said aloud if he thinks they're being too much of an overt prat about it. I haven't heard any girls saying particularly vulgar things about James in front of Lily but I can say with a fair amount of certainty that I'd probably join in for the lark of it all.

Well, as I more or less said already, I'd be more concerned about a moody Moony if he wasn't very much normal at the moment.

"So our we settled on the lake then?" Peter pressed earnestly.

"That sounds like jolly fun to me," I say without the enthusiasm Peter was probably hoping for, "it's something to do at least."

Peter had this compulsion about seeking other people's approval that I really didn't quite grasp at times. I mean, I understand why people want other people to approve of them but Peter makes it out to be some sort of chore. It's not like you can force people to like you let alone beg and plead with them to. I've attempted to share this insight with Peter over the years to try and get him to roll more with a punches life has a tendency of throwing but he's proven stubbornly resistant to my advice on the subject.

I'd like to blame his mother for this because the woman is foul about coddling him but that might inspire Peter to blame my mother for some of my own failings. That, for the record, simply isn't tolerated and the last "person" to make a comment about my mother lost an "eye".

Frosty bastard.

Still sometimes I think Peter ignores me simply because I'm the one who said it over Prongs or Moony.

Such a keen grasp of credible sources is quality I've always respected in Peter.

"So I guess the question is are we meeting up before or after Quidditch Practice?" James chewed his eggs between words.

"How about after?" Remus requested, "Arabella and I need to put the final touches on our rough draft for Heilsing's essay so we were going to head to the Library and cross reference our sources to be sure they were right."

"Quite so," Arabella nodded vigorously, "hate to have all sorts of points and things taken off from simple laziness. And we'll just have to do it over then anyway."

"That's very responsible of the both of you," Lily praised warmly.

"Down right boring if you ask me," Peter applied some jam to a square of toast.

James says nothing but has an odd smile playing on his lips that he tries to mask with a more determined chewing of eggs.

Alright now, Lily's just naïve and Peter's perfectly clueless. Those two have no idea that Remus and Arabella are speaking in the oh-so cryptic code that it takes a keen ear and randy mind to read between the lines of. What was really said was this:

"How about after?" Remus requested, "Arabella and I need to put the --------- touches on ---- rough ---------------------------------- so we were going to head to **Undisclosed Locale** -------------------------------- to be sure they were right."

"Quite so," Arabella nodded vigorously, "------ to have all sorts ------------------ things taken off --------------------------. And we'll just have to do it over -------------------."

Go on.

Tell me I'm wrong.

"Sounds like you both have plans," I decide while rolling up some bacon and toast and rising from the table, "I guess I'll just hunt you lot out later on then."

"If you get bored, you can show up for practice and tell us how we look," James offered, "Same invitation to all of you. I need all the eyes I can to help me finding any holes in our plays. I don't intend to get throttled by Ravenclaw."

"'Teams' aren't spelled with an 'I' James," Lily teased

"No but if you play ever so slightly with the spelling you do get 'James'," James countered with a crisp grin. Lily shook her red hair before kissing James on the cheek and slipping her hand into his.

I've said it before and I'll say it always.

That pair is smashing together.

"I'll see you all a bit later then," I wave off.

"Hold on a tick," Peter protected, "why can't you and I carry on a bit without them since everyone else is busy?"

I nod towards the Slytherin table without bothering to look.

"Because I promised Winifred that we'd glance over our own project if a free moment came up today," I explain, "might as well get it done with so I won't have to think about it for the rest of the day."

Unlike Arabella and Remus this isn't a pretense for something more hands-on in the pursuit of understanding anatomy. Mostly this is just my excuse to trade a few quips with the girl before devoting a morning to singing the floor of the dorms with Peter and a few rounds of _Spark in the Dark_. Still I spy and opportunity for fun as I turn to the couple in question.

"So I guess we'll probably see you both at the _Library_ later on then?" I say in as smooth and unassuming tone I can manage.

I'm rewards with a nervous glance between Arabella and Remus.

"Sure…" Remus said carefully.

"Oh actually, we probably won't because I think we did all the written stuff. Just verbal conformation and the like," I stop making Remus and Arabella sweat as I saunter off, "see you blokes on the Pitch then."

Finishing off the breakfast I'd grabbed I notice I'm not too alone in the corridors as move through them since most people seem to be finishing up with breakfast. I spy Winifred up the hall chatting about something with a Hufflepuff named Rosier.

From where I'm standing it's pretty evident that Rosier's keen on Winifred. Pity for him he doesn't have all that much of a shot with her because of one simple fact.

Rosier's a nice chap.

Now I'm not advocating that men should go around treating women like something you'd scrape off a dungeon floor nor do I practice anything remotely similar to it. The thing of it is a bloke needs a large measure of confidence and a bit of an edge to impress most women. Rosier does not appear to possess either of these qualities which makes his odds at impressing a cool customer like Win long ones at best.

Walking straight up I was never one to feel embarrassed about injecting myself into the middle of a conversation.

"Oi Rosier, Wilkes," I keep it formal so people don't take my presence the wrong way.

It doesn't seem to help as Rosier's lime colored eyes are on me now.

"Morning Black," Rosier greets stiffly, obviously waiting for me to explain my place there.

"Mind if I steal my partner for a minute?" I smile politely at the fair featured boy.

"I'll talk to you later, Rosier," Winifred graciously brushes the boy off as we take to strolling up the hall. I shrug with an apologetic expression that Rosier in no way returns.

Now **that** was a dirty look!

Maybe I should rethink that "nice guy" thing.

"Looks like you got yourself an admirer," I comment without so bothering to look at Rosier as soon as we're a fair distance away.

"Possibly," Winifred shrugged with her usual indifference, "I think Rosier's mostly being nice so I don't think much of it."

What did I tell you?

"You must have them lining up if you can afford to be so choosy," I tease.

"I've got you following in step don't I?" Winifred smirked.

"You certainly seem to," I can't find much of an argument against this.

Winifred takes to leaning against a ledge overlooking the courtyard and the spring weather wafting in from it. I join her as the inaudible dialogues of our peers vibrate around us from their spots below.

"Still, single life must suit you," I keep on the subject, "I can't really recall seeing you about with another bloke aside from Snape and it's not like anything was going on there."

"Why do assume that?" she asks with a curious hint to her voice.

"Because you're blood relations," I reply obviously.

"Through our great-grandfathers," Winifred clarified, "that's barely an 8th of the same blood in our veins. Considering there are pureblood wizards still marrying their first cousins in order to keep all their magic and resources within their line, I'd venture to say you'd find more people accepting of such a pairing than not. After all practically every Wizarding family has married into every other Wizarding family at this point."

Winifred flashed me a quick smile as she added onto the conversation that was going to turn me off from lunch.

"Honestly, I'd expect this sort of ignorant logic from a Muggle-born, Sirius, but you're a pureblood thoroughbred yourself."

"Yeah well my parents weren't cousins, half-siblings, or whatever," I state firmly, "I can tell you right now that the Blacks don't set out to marry for blood like some of these other families. We just tend to settle down with other established Witches and Wizards because those are the circles we run in, but it's not like anyone would be bothered with someone marrying a Muggle-Born or even a Muggle if it suited us."

I hear myself then ask a question that I hope my stomach won't respond violently to with a spray of bile.

"So were you and Snape ever. . ." I search for a word that won't make me retch on the pronunciation of it, ". . .involved?"

Winifred stifled a laugh before glancing at me with her dark eyes and a very sly expression.

"What do you think?" Winifred challenged.

"I don't," I inform her, "keeps the night terrors at bay."

"So do I get to ask you intrusive questions about your personal life?" Winifred chewed on the words as though she could actually cut them on her teeth.

There's always something sexy about a girl who makes it sound as though she's playing with a language like a cat plays with it's food.

"Ask away," I urge, "I have no shame. . .or is it pride. . .I always get muddled on that part."

"I think it's the latter," Winifred offers up helpfully, "so how many girls in this school have you snogged yet?"

"It would be a short list if you asked me who I haven't," I reply.

Winifred laughs at this. The really tragic part is I'm being pretty forthright on that estimate.

"I've had more than a few flings," I continue on being purposefully vague, "none of them really ended up serious though. And anytime I try for something more than a friends with benefits arrangement it doesn't end in my favor."

"I guess that's just the story of both our lives," Winifred nodded in an almost sympathetic way, "We're so similar and different all in the same stroke. It's like you need to be all sorts of different perspectives of Sirius just to no one will be disappointed. The catch is no one will be satisfied either because they're never getting more than a part of you."

I hear what Winifred says and I wonder how true it is. Am I really trying to impress everyone so much that I'm not really doing the job for anyone except for maybe James, Remus, Peter, and possibly Winifred. She must catch my thoughtful look because Winifred then adds on.

"Of course I put so much effort into be removed from it all that anyone who attempts to grab hold of me catching nothing more than smoke on the wind," Winifred said to show that she wasn't just picking on me.

"I don't think you're like that," I say honestly, "you keep to yourself but your as tangible as anyone else. People just need to know the parts of you that are real. The parts that are grounded in you like your cello playing or gardening or your love of quidditch."

I mean that too. Win's a clever girl, maybe not in the book sense like Lily or Millicent but she's not thick in the least. She's also got a strong character and a whole lot of little things that make her an interesting and exciting person to know.

"I know, but I still don't have a record of dating anymore solid than you," Winifred confessed though she didn't look all that put out by it.

"Why is that?" I ask with interest.

"I guess I was never a big fan of the intimacy thing," Winifred shrugged, "you know the part where you're supposed to talk and let people into your life. I like my privacy. I like my secrets."

"You seem fine when your with me," I point out.

"Yes, but I'm also not spilling every little detail of my life out before you either," Winifred stated.

Although I am very curious as to what she could possibly have hidden that she doesn't think people would want to know about or understand, I don't bother asking.

I know she wouldn't tell e even if I did.

"So what do you do then? Ensnare men with your wiles, use them, and discard them once you've had your fill?" I say as a bid to lighten the mood.

"They don't seem to mind," Winifred answers me in a way that I can't be entirely certain of whether she's joking or not. "Does that bother you?"

"Only in the sense of that leaves me to wonder why you never thought to use me," I pout while only half jesting.

Hey a bloke has feelings and I always considered myself to be something of a catch for any girl thank you.

"Well Severus would have imploded," Winifred said as though this were somehow a bad thing, "and considering what happened with Florcence. . ."

I gape while blinking.

Given the circumstances I think this was the cleverest thing I could have managed at the moment.

"I. . .I didn't know you'd heard about that," I confess, still thrown for a loop.

"I have my sources and it's in their better interests to be reliable," Winifred vaguely divulged.

The thing to understand about the whole mess with myself, Florence Copia, and Snape is that virtually the only people who know about it is _myself, Florence Copia, and Snape_. The whole scene was just too wonky for me to want to admit to past my best friends and, considering Copia was with Snape _before_ me it didn't speak very well on my behalf. Snape wasn't bragging because he wasn't the type to volunteer personal information about himself, particularly the kind that proves he lost out to me. And as selfish and clueless as Copia could be even she had enough sense to realize that this was one of those things best left unsaid.

Thus this little incident isn't exactly public domain.

Still, this doesn't explain why Winifred is still talking to me if she knows about all this. After all, as it stands, I basically was fooling around with her beloved cousin's girlfriend at the time and was a major contributing factor in the dissolving of their relationship.

"So why aren't you hexing me blind over the whole thing?" I wonder aloud.

"I have it on good authority that Florence was tugging on both your and Severus's strings," Winifred explained, "and it's in their better interest to be reliable as well on this."

I feel myself relax a bit before cracking a smile.

"So why aren't you hexing Florence blind?" I wonder aloud some more.

"I figured I'd give myself a present for my birthday," Winifred smiled a bit.

It occurs to me I have no idea what day that would happen to be.

"When's that?"

"April Twenty-ninth," Winifred reported in her usual blasé tone.

I quickly examine my concept of time.

"That's only three days from now," I realize, "why didn't you mention anything before now?"

"Because I don't particularly like my birthdays," Winifred said softly.

"Why?"

"Because I don't," she says like the stubborn girl she is.

"Alright, if I get you a grand gift for the occasion will you tell me why you don't like your birthday?" I barter for information.

"Depends on the present," Winifred consented.

"It's a deal then."

I extend my hand to shake on it. Winifred accepts the gesture. Her skin feels cool and soft, like the petals of a flower. The kind of pleasant texture that makes one reluctant to let go.

Still, I do.

"Well, I have to go and scramble to get you a last minute present," I announce as I push myself from the ledge, "but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't put yourself out over it," Winifred shrugged.

"Hey, I'd bend over backwards for a friend if I thought it would give them some cheer," I admit with an extraordinarily goofy grin, "take care."

"You too," Winifred extends as we break off from one another.

Heading back to Gryffindor Tower, I determine I should have enough time to use one of the passages over into Hogsmeade, pick out a gift, and be back before Quidditch practice is over. I hope that if I show up dressed in something other than my school uniform no one will question my presence but I'll bring James's cloak along just to be safe. If all else fails I can just pick out something and leave the money on the counter without anyone to actually see my purchase.

I'm sure they have stranger things happen in Hogsmeade anyway.

Now there are a few ways over to Hogsmeade. One involves a rampaging tree that will beat me silly if I get a toe too close to it…not to mention it's in broad daylight for anyone to see. Another involves a tunnel that James, Peter, Remus, and I decided long ago looks like it's about to cave in and compelled us to vow never to tread in there on our own. The others we suspect Filch might know about so we don't usually risk using them.

The last one involves a witch statue in a corridor and a magical word.

Problem is anyone could stumble along while you're messing about with passwords and hidden passages and us Marauders like to keep our secrets thank you very much.

So naturally this is where I run into Snape.

I hug the invisibility cloak over my own so he won't notice it. The witch statue if just a few paces off but I don't even dare to look at it while Snape is sharing the same air as me. My intent was to keep on walking, take the first fork off the hallway and double back after a few minutes. I also intended not to say a single thing to Snape while doing this.

I did!

Of course that didn't stop him. . .

"I'm curious about something Black," Snape spoke as we passed shoulders, turning towards me. I stop and glare halfway in his direction.

"It's called _shampoo_. Apply it to your hair when wet then rinse it out once you've got a fair lather going," I take a guess at his inquiry.

Snape sneers.

I smile.

"Actually I was curious to know when your confinement to your House dormitory came to an end," Snape's tone flickered between bitter and amused, "I was under the impression you were supposed to spend all your spare moments away from those you would harm as a consequence of your existence."

Oh Merlin is he still on about that Whomping Willow thing?

I have a confession I'd never utter aloud on this topic, but I really don't feel any guilt about what happened.

At least not concerning Snape.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I wanted him dead or anything he'd try to sell everyone else on if they'd let him, but I just don't feel the same sickness and responsibility for Snape's part that night as I do for everyone else. In a way, I almost think he deserved something bad to happen to him. Some sort to of karma to wander up and make him rethink his usual horrible nature.

I know, these aren't nice thoughts for me to have.

That's why they're just thoughts.

"McGonagall seems to think that I'm not much of a menace," I point out as a trump to his loftiness before a smirk meets my lips.

"_Winifred_ doesn't seem to think I'm much of a menace either. . ."

Okay, low-blow I admit it, but this is git-face we're talking about. I just love to get under his skin and I know that dropping his cousin's name is a way to do that. Hell, I'd be tempted to kiss her right in front of him just to see the look on his face afterwards.

That certainly would be tempting. . .

Snape takes a step closer to me. I feel myself silently hoping that the Slytherin prefect will take a swing at me so I'll have an excuse to thrash him.

This tends to happen whenever Snape and I are forced to interact.

"Well maybe she'll see things differently once you're feeding her to some monster," Snape challenged me with everything up to and including his eyes.

Oh that did it.

"That _monster_ is my _friend_," I say through clenched teeth. The absolute last thing I'm going to let that vampire bat think he can do is slander my friends in front of me.

"And Winifred is my _family_," Snape reminded me of something I do my best to forget about, "the last thing she needs is to be socializing with an arrogant fool who is capable of cold-blooded acts."

"Does that mean you won't be hanging about her anymore?" I throw his words back at him.

Snape glares hard at me before an unpleasant smile dominates his features.

"It just occurred to me Black. . ." Snape began coolly, ". . .that Winifred doesn't know about New Years."

I pause in every motion and thought at this.

Winifred doesn't know about New Years or how "I almost killed her favorite cousin" along with the other stupid things I did that night.

Winifred was in no way privy to my "finest hour" and I would very much like to keep it that way.

"She wouldn't," I speak slowly, "Winifred wasn't there and those who were are supposed to keep it on the mum to everyone else by Dumbledore's request."

"As I recall, I was only _specifically_ asked not to share Lupin's secret," Snape looked very much like a wanker as he spoke, "I can omit enough details of the evening and still ensure that Winifred probably won't even speak to you to work on your assignment for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I'd like to tell Snape he can't do that but, in truth, I'm not sure that's actually the case. I feel my jaw along with every other joint in my body lock up as I stare at him. I am in no way fond of the idea of Snape having some sensitive information to lord over my head.

"Hmm, it's odd to be spared your usual 'witty' retorts Black. Have I struck a nerve?" Snape presses on with a smug grin.

"Say whatever you need to say to Winifred," I hiss out, "of course I have to wonder why you haven't mentioned it to her before. I doubt you'd skip an opportunity to drag my name through the mud."

I **refuse** to let Snape think he has any power over me and I certainly won't **beg** him not to say anything to Winifred.

"As if you require my assistance," Snape scoffed. "No, Black, the only reason I haven't bothered Winifred with the horror your capable of is because I didn't need to worry her with what you might attempt upon me. Likewise she was more or less ambivalent to you so it's not as though she was in danger herself. But seeing as how close you two are becoming. . ."

"Sod off on whatever you're about to insinuate!" I snap irritably.

". . .it's only fair to warn her of what she might be heading into with her eyes shut," Snape continued on as though I hadn't spoke at all.

"Winifred and I are just friends," I repeat myself for the hundredth time to the hundredth person.

"Why? Is she not good enough for you?" Snape badgers me in an obvious effort to get my blood to boil. "It can't be because she's a Slytherin because we both know that's never bothered you before. And the fact she's close to me is another fact that gives you little concern. . ."

"This about Florence then?" I demand, sensing an old argument.

"This is just about you and I, Black, and our colorful history together," Snape glowered one last time before skulking off and calling behind, "fair warning, Black. I catch you prowling about Winifred beyond that of a study partner and I'll suddenly become very nostalgic with her."

I let him walk off without saying anything and head towards the witch statue so I can buy the prat's cousin a birthday gift.

I make it out to the quidditch stadium just as practice finished up. Remus, and Peter were joining James and the rest of the team on the pitch.

"Where have you been?" Peter asked in a particularly accusing tone.

"I felt like some butterbeer so I went to Hogsmeade and grabbed some for the lot of us," I reply, "I thought it would make for a nice treat after practice."

It's not a lie because I DID get the butterbeer after all.

"So where are the rest of the girls?" I question as I realize that the only one present in our Year was Cassidy Kinkade but that was expected since she was on the team.

"Apparently they didn't find watching James call redundant plays to be the height of entertainment," Remus joked, "they cleared off a half hour into it and said they'd meet us later in the commons."

"Shouldn't you be getting in on all the hair braiding Cass?" I tease the team Beater.

"Yer going the right way fer a chipped molar, Black," Cassidy shot back with a smirk.

Cassidy's a grand girl, really fond of her. She's as tough as dragon's hide and shows people that even a witch can mean business. I certainly wouldn't pick a fight with her. I personally think it's posh that she's such a tomboy even though not everyone else at Hogwarts seems to appreciate her refusal to embrace the more feminine whiles of life.

Ignorant sods. Who says every lass needs pretty pointy hats and tones of make-up caking her face?

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the ever enthusiastic Bill Weasley bounding towards the rest of up with a proud expression painted across his face.

"I've got the balls for quidditch!" Bill announced proudly to the group as he ran up to meet us.

That was about when everyone stopped whatever it was they were saying or doing so they could stare at the 2nd Year trying to figure out if he had said what he was heard him say.

I knew I had a manic grin on my face and I simply didn't care.

Bill raised an eyebrow to the lot of us.

"What? I put the quaffle, bludgers, and snitch back in the box and left it in the equipment shed," Bill explained to us.

"Ohhh. . ." we all nod along with this. A few people are giving off a fair blush at the moment while most of the older boys like myself and the other Marauders are indulging in embarrassed laughter. Young Weasley doesn't see to follow and we're all content to leave it at that.

Randy minds in this crowd eh?

"So how about we give me a chance to shower up and then see about those butterbeers?" James questioned while patting me on the back.

"Sure, we can still hang about the lake if you guys care to," I shrug staring up into the blue sky, "lovely day."

"Sounds good," Peter says enthusiastically about his own plan.

As we set out two, the lot of Gryffindor team and they're groupies (i.e. myself, Remus, Peter, and Bill Weasley) returned to the dorms. I passed out a butterbeer to the group fro the case I brought back while James cleaned himself up. The girls were in the middle of some ritual involving beauty treatments or some other girly thing I have no interest in so they declined following us out to the lake.

That's alright, been a while since it's been just us gents.

Out at the lake, each with a butterbeer we smuggled under our cloaks, I suggested we climb our way up into a tree just so nobody would notice us straight off with the Hogsmeade contraband if they so happened by. Perched up on the thickest branches we could find we carried on like we used to before 6th Year.

Not that I'm knocking it entirely but Peter had been right. Things had changed from before. Remus and James were practically inseparable from their respective girls, which is fine since I adore both Lily and Arabella but it does create a bit of a rift. This has left myself and Peter to largely find out own things to do without them. I can always keep myself occupied but sometimes I wonder if Peter gets a bit lonely.

Maybe I should make more of an effort to hang about with him.

"So what are we going to do with out summer?" Remus asked as he watched a few leaves spiral towards the ground below.

"We have to see the Quidditch cup most definitely," I interject, "my mum and dad never miss a playoff and Acontiae's best friend, Bertha Jorkins, is always good about getting our friends extra tickets."

"You spending the break with the Longbottoms or are you opening up your house for the season," Peter asked James softly.

"I hadn't really thought about it," James admitted, "I don't see much of a point in me staying at the estate by myself."

"Well I'll move in with you," Peter offered with that desperate hint he got to his voice whenever he thought about spending any great length of time with his mum.

"Yeah and you could have Lily over to keep you company. Play a bit of house?" I say this without it entirely sounding like a joke.

"Oh I'm SURE I can sell her parents on THAT!" James laughed, "'Pardon me, Mr. and Mrs. Evans but would you mind terribly if your seventeen year old daughter and I shacked up a bit?' Get on with yourself, Padfoot I doubt Lily will be over at my house for the summer!"

Of course then James paused and got that odd sort of look he gets whenever something particularly clever occurred to him.

Needless to say I'll be curious to see how this plays out later on.

I might have commented on James's wily look if a plump screech owl didn't come howling into the branches of the tree and land itself right next to Peter, startling him to the point that he actually tumbled about seven feet down to the ground below us. James, Remus, and I peered down at him to see if he was alright. From the looks of his deep, pink complexion in response to the chorus of laughter and accusing expression directed at me I wager the worst thing injured on Peter was his pride. Turning my attention back to the bird which had been responsible for Peter's plummet, I notice it was apparently making a deliver to me.

Hmm, maybe I should feel a bit more responsible for Peter falling on his arse consider I had suggested we climb up in the tree and an Owl seeking me out startled him from it.

It seems that the bird was bringing me a bouquet of sweet scented white flowers that's accompanied with a note. Thanking the bird for its trouble I ignore the questioning looks of my mates to start reading the note. I feel the trunk of the tree begin to sway a bit as Peter begins to reclimb the length of the tree and keep a hand on a thick branch next to me so I don't repeat his prior accident.

To Sirius:

Please do me the courtesy of meeting me at Greenhouse Three just before sunset. I would very much like to confess these feelings overwhelming me then and see where we go from here.

W.W

"W.W.?"

Winifred Wilkes.

As I try my best to recall anyone else I might know with the initials WW I consider the damning evidence of the flower attachment. Not that it was entirely unique onto Winifred to send a chap flowers, I've gotten a few now and again. The thing is, most girls figure that lads don't really appreciate receiving flowers as much as they do so I'm far more accustom to sweets or cute stuffed toys. Winifred has a habit of sending out flowers to people that have some ironic meaning attached to them.

Trouble is I'm not entirely sure as to what type of flower these are and even if I did it's not like I'd know the meaning of them off hand.

I better talk to someone who might have a clue.

Still the question of the moment is about how I wonder what got Winifred off and running like this. Maybe it was that conversation we had about our respective practices in dating. Perhaps she thought I was giving off a hint about us that I wasn't actually giving.

Right?

"So what was so BLOODY IMPORTANT that I had to get knocked clean to the ground for it?" Peter huffed and puffed his way up the branches. Moony helped to steady Wormtail's climb by guiding him along under the arm.

"More of Sirius's fans paying their respects," Remus nodded to the flowers across my lap.

I try to keep an overtly flattered smile from pulling across my face as I fold up the note. The last thing I need is for my

"So who's the admirer this time?" James asked with a gesture to the note in my hand.

"Oh I'm sorry that's privileged information," I inform.

"Since when?" Remus laughed.

"Yeah! You're always so quick to brag about how many people love precious old you," Peter chimed in while catching his breath.

"Well, I've grown as a person this year," I insist with a lopsided grin, "I feel as though I've become more worldly than the lad you once knew and this Sirius C. Black is far more modest in his affairs with the fairer sex."

I feel three sets of eyes studying me as though I had just spoken in a strange tongue. They exchange curious looks before turning back to me.

"Show of hand for all in favor of stealing the note from him," James called as he, Remus, and Peter shot their hands in the air.

While my entrances are always fashionable I like to make my exits grand.

Shooting my hand out I snatch the spectacles off James's face and take them along with myself, my note, and my flowers as I leap clean out of the tree.

"DIRTY POOL!" James protested as he swiped half blind at me.

"I'm just going to leave these somewhere by the tree to make sure you don't follow me too closely Prongs," I grin up at my best friend.

Peter and Remus don't have much of a hope in keeping up with me in a cross-country jog but James could give me more than just a run for my galleons the Quidditch hardened chiseled prat he is. Of course he can't get too far without seeing now can he? At least this way he'll be slowed up enough for me to gain enough ground.

Running off and laughing madly at my own hilarity I try to figure on where I should be heading to exactly.

Professor Sprouts' office sounds like as good a place as any.

I rap on Professor Sprouts' office doors which are tinted and thick glass much like those of the Greenhouse.

"Enter!" I hear the herbology teacher invite me in.

Opening the doors, Professor Sprouts' office is like a miniature greenhouse with a desk parked in the center of it. At the moment she appears to have taken a watering can to the plants hanging overhead. I approach her with my usual pleasant smile.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, Professor, but I was curious of something Herbology related," I lead in smoothly.

"Yes Mr. Black?" Professor Sprout salutes me with an eyebrow, unable to resist either my charm or the fresh topic of 'the latest mad thing the Black boy said to me today' conversation in the faculty lounge.

"You wouldn't happen to know, off-hand, what these flowers are?"

I display the bouquet to the Professor. She glances over them casual then to me with a slightly disappointed expression.

"Honestly, Mr. Black, you don't know white violets when you see them?" Sprout chided in her usual good natured tone.

"I guess I'm more accustom to the violet violets," I shrug, " you would know what the meaning behind sending someone white violets is by chance, would you ma'am?"

Professor Sprout smiles, evidently pleased I didn't ask her something idiotic like "how would I go about pruning a sausage plant" or something of the like. I've come to realize now that most of my Professors expect me to dazzle them with some stunning kernel of lunacy at this point and I typically just have fun rolling with it. Presently, however, I'm a man on a mission.

"White Violets traditionally translate to something of the effect of "let's take a chance on happiness," Professor Sprout divulged with an amused look, "is that helpful to you, Mr. Black?"

"Well it gives me something to work with," I reply with a flash of a smile, "thank you for your time."

Departing the Greenhouses, I glance over the note once again before placing it in a pocket on my slacks. I figure I should head back to Gryffindor to see about putting the flowers in some water.

My mind is still spinning a bit from all this.

That's not to say that I'm unaccustomed to receiving admiring letters now and again, but this was one from Winifred Wilkes. Complete with a floral attachment that serves in place of a signature and her coy, ironic caressing of words.

That girl always has a habit of keeping one off balance.

The question is though what am I going to do now that I'm tilted off my axis on this. I mean it's all flattering and grand that she's keen on the idea of something more than casual but where does that leave me? After all I've only been declaring up and down on how much the pair of us are simply friends. And that's what we are.

It's just one of those things you feel deep down inside you that is nearly impossible to doubt. Like some fundamental truth of the universe that can't be argued or bent from the position it was intended.

The thing is though . . .I do doubt it at times.

Specifically the times when our conversations have ended up like this:

We'll be talking, maybe making fun of something or just commenting on life in general, then Win will make some well-timed remark that will have me laughing to the point of hyperventilating. She'll typically stop talking so she can indulge a coy smile and entertained look in her eyes that makes me breathless for a whole different reason.

Lots of conversations end like this.

I don't care to wonder what this reason is because I doubt I'll like what it suggests. Win and I are two attractive, intelligent, witty, charismatic people (without any modesty, I am aware) whom people consider as brilliant around one another and I think a large part of this has to do with the fact with don't have the usual drama that boys and girls in such proximity are obligated to feel after a month or so. To start questioning and reworking everything we have . . .well it would destroy the great relationship we got of a man and a woman who can sit together without worrying about some larger meaning to it all.

Winifred and I need to be friends.

I have NEVER had a girl whom I considered to be a friend stay a friend once in my whole bloody life. I'm sick of every time I get close to a wonderful witch I need to make it something more which, inevitably, makes our relationship something less. And I'll be buggered for life in general if the only girls I can talk to without somewhat attempting to snog or shag are my sisters!

So I suppose what I'm saying in all this is my ego won't allow my first serious attempt to be a failed one. I'm determined to prove to everyone who's said this is impossible how possible it is.

It should be noted that by "everyone" I mean "Peter" but he can bugger himself chafed before he gets the last laugh on this!

It should also be noted that I am fully aware I'm a barking loony.

After I put the violets in a vase and some water near my bed I head down to the commons and find James browsing over a copy of the Daily prophet while on the couch.

Evidently he found his glasses.

It's not long before he notes my presence and tosses the paper at me.

"Prat," he says as though it's my given name.

"Oh you had it coming, you nosy git," I insist while flopping on the other side of the couch.

"You going to tell me who sent you the delivery?" James demanded.

"Not even a hint," I shake my head.

It occurs to me then that I could probably use a little of James's advice on this matter. Not that James is an expert on women or anything but he has been in a fairly lengthy relationship by young wizarding standards and he and Lily did used to be friends before it all started out. Maybe he could offer up a perspective to sway me on wanting to gamble what I have with Win on something else.

The trick is to ask him without asking him.

"You know, I'm really happy for you and Lily," I told James honestly.

James dropped his slight scowl to smile warmly at this and nodded appreciatively at me. I think that meant a lot from me to James since we almost fought over the girl only half a year earlier.

How things change eh?

"I'm happy with it," James said simply and with whole-hearted sincerity.

Deciding this might be an opening to weigh my options I casually lean on the couch and study James.

"So was it weird going from mates to boyfriend and girlfriend?" I inquire in a light pitch.

"Not so much," James shrugged, "of course I kind of stopped looking at Lily as a friend long before the fact so it was just sort of the next logical step that I had been prepared to take long before I even put my shoes on."

Hmm, that didn't help me too much since I don't think I've been making any grand preparation to woo Winifred.

Have I?

"What about Lily?" I continue on, "was she like you and knew what she was after?"

James laughed and shook his head, obviously reliving the angst of the first term of our 6th Year.

"I suspect not nearly as much as I or we probably would have gotten together a lot sooner," James wagered, "the thing was, once we got past all the stupid things that were keeping up apart that we didn't think the other would understand and just trusted one another it was a whole lot easier to be friends and even more so to be romantic."

James ran his hand though his hair and glanced at me.

"It's something I'm still learning," James confessed simply.

"Aren't we all," I nod in sympathy.

It was then that Remus decided to walk in and join the conversation by default.

"What's going on in here?" He questioned.

"I was just talking about me and Lily," James explained.

"A subject we _never_ tire of hearing about," Remus teased with a toothy grin.

"Prat," James scowled mostly for show.

"Well what about you and Arabella?" I ask, seeing if another perspective might be of some use.

"What about it?" Remus eyes me as though I'm about to ask something vulgar.

Can't fault the chap for knowing his audience.

"Well how did you get to fancy her?" I suggest more helpfully, "It was sort of out of the blue since you never mentioned anything about her before you made your move at the ball."

"Oh," Remus relaxed on this and smiled, "I don't know. I guess I just noticed how cute and quirky she was in pursuit of our James here. Then I realized that Arabella was pretty much one of a kind. Coupled with the fact she's a sweet person and a head turner in all the traditional sense, I felt I owed it to myself to at least see if I had a show with someone so unique."

Remus grinned a little to himself before adding.

"I didn't really think it would go on that far or that long but I guess sometimes it's good to be wrong about what you once thought."

I nod along with the words without realizing it.

"That's something then," I speak up, "you're both lucky men. If either of you forget than I'll pummel you on principle."

"Not planning on it," James assured with a dopey grin.

"It's not as though fabulous girls who don't mind dating werewolves are dangling from trees," Remus smirked.

"Just as long as you know," I smile back.

I say almost nothing during supper.

It was a bit of a chore actually.

The thing of it is I was so busy thinking about myself and Winifred and what I wanted that to be exactly that I could barely eat let alone hold up a conversation. I considered the testimonies of two of my closest friends and weighed them against how I saw things with me and Winifred.

Yes we were both friends and yes Winifred was unlike any other girl walking the halls of Hogwarts. The thing was I wasn't constantly thinking about how I wished I had more with Winifred like James and Remus had been. Up until now I thought that I was pretty content with the arrangement that I had with her.

Why is it when one person in a platonic relationship starts to question things the other is obligated to as well?

I like Winifred. Loads. I like spending time with her and I think that she's an attractive and charming girl on top of it all, but am I willing to wager all that on a relationship that's more than friends? The both of us can admit that we're down right horrible at keeping any consistent relationships going with other people and tend to tomcat about as it suits us. Why tempt fate when we seem to have a grand thing going just as mates?

So I guess that's my decision then.

Problem is that means I still have to let Winifred down. And that just might cost us our friendship as much as a failed dating experience. Of course it's not like I should just go along with it so I won't risk making things worse right at the moment. I'll just have to be reasonable about it tell her why I don't think it should happen.

At least not right now if it's meant to.

I can honestly say that the fact she's a Slytherin or kin to Snape never once influenced my decision in all this.

I kind of wished it did though.

It almost seems kinder to have Winifred mad at me because of the impending rejection rather than hurt by it.

You know I didn't think I'd live long enough to see me being mature about something.

It's with a deep breath that I enter the Greenhouses. The sun's only begun to set and I've been rehearsing my calm and rational words over and over in my head so I'll know exactly what I'm going to say.

I hope the profusely sweating palms don't work against me.

And there was Winifred with her back to me pruning the withered leaves off some stray plants. I'll be sure to get her to put those down before we actually get into all this.

I approach her with the intent to say something but I feel my voice stick in my throat leaving me to dumbly watch her trimming the plants like some kind of odd voyeur. Her uneven lengths of brown hair keep flopping over one another like some kind of willow tree. Those long ivory fingers plucking at leaves like the cords of a cello, skilled, gentle, and purposeful all at once. A soft hum is vibrating from behind her lips as she works.

My breath is lost to me again and everything I had wanted to say a moment ago is completely forgotten.

I realize just then that it doesn't matter if my situation with Winifred started out similarly to either James or Remus. I don't need to have agonized over it for months to know I want to be with Winifred as more than a friend or want her just because she's so different from everyone else.

No two relationships are ever the same so why should I think I have to start mine off on the same foot as everyone else?

The simple matter of it is Winifred and I will always be an odd pairing. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin, her being Snape's cousin, and all the other ironies that others will be so ready to point out. It's all noise, meaningless noise if both me and Winifred are fine with it, right?

At the end of the day, I'm not going to find someone as clever as Win who also happens to be funny and unique as well as the only girl who challenges me in that way that makes things interesting without making me feel threatened by it all.

I'm supposed to ignore all this because things aren't going by the script?

It's then that Winifred turns around, a slightly startled look flashing over her dark eyes before relaxing.

"Oh," She smiles, "how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," I say as she turns to face me.

Its odd how I can go from being so comfortable and casual all the time around a girl and, in the bat of an eyelash, I feel so nervous it's almost crippling.

Is this how Rosier feels all the time around her?

"You look like you have something you want to say," Winifred noted keenly.

"I do," I croak out while taking a step forward, "I just seem to be reeling a bit."

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. No rehearsals or pre-arranged speeches. I'm just going to have to speak from the heart on all this and hope it comes out halfway decent. I want to tell Winifred how special she is to me and how great this month has been with her and how I think we can have so much more given the opportunity. How I'm willing to work past every difference between us to make whatever we have something more than anything else we've experienced with another person.

And that, no matter what else is said or done, I want to be her friend and count on her to be around.

It comes to my attention that I'm still silent and most likely smiling very stupid and nervously.

"Oh," Winifred interrupts my thoughts and demeanor by looking over my shoulder, "what are you doing here?"

In turn to see who she's talking to, completely unsure as to what to expect.

And there stood a girl with Hufflepuff colors on the crest of a sweater she's wearing. An average build with strawberry hair and I name I couldn't place for a sack of galleons. She's not in my year otherwise I would know who she was but she's probably only one off in either direction judging by her appearance. There's something familiar about her though, like if I was given a moment to think on it I could probably figure out just who she was and if I knew her better than in passing.

As of the moment I am _reasonably_ certain I HAVE NOT snogged with her before.

"I think I should ask you that," The Hufflepuff girl commented in a rather prickly tone with her eyes on Winifred, "after all, I'm supposed to be meeting Sirius right now."

As I am now utterly without a clue as to what is going on, I can only hope my infinite confusion over the present situation is reflected in the slack-jawed gaping of my expression.

"Oh," Winifred glances over to me with an ambivalent shrug, "you should have mentioned something."

"But - ," of course this is all I really manage before I return to my stupor.

"It's alright," Winifred placed down her pruning sheers and starts to walk off, "I'll get out of your collective hair. So sorry to intrude."

Sauntering off, Winifred departs the Greenhouse without another word. And with that I'm left alone with the strange girl and a whole lot of questions.

The girl smiles at me while strolling up to me. Once she gets a bit closer she gives me a quizzical look in reaction to my expression.

"You seem very surprised to see me here," the girl said to me with her brow furrowed as a show of her confusion.

"You seem to think that I shouldn't be," I hear myself reply dumbly, not all too sure as to what my line is expected to be.

"I initialed it V.W," the girl insisted a bit irritably. "and my name _is_ Violet White so I sent you _white violets_. I thought it would be a clever pun or clue for you to figure out."

I feel myself shaking my head as I pull the note from my pocket and look it over. I was positive the initials at the bottom with a pair of W's as in "Winifred Wilkes" but I realize that there is, in fact, a V present before the second W. I stare at the parchment trying to decide if Violet's handwriting was so sloppy that she made her V's and W's a little too similar or if I had just jumped to a conclusion because of the flowers and the meaning behind them.

Or maybe I wanted to see something that wasn't there.

That's when I fully appreciate how coincidental all this has been. How everything tossed my way in the span of a single day seemed to add up to one grand solution and then everything gets turned on its head. It's like the universe just set me up so it could have one great big ironic laugh at my expense.

The again perhaps I just needed to chase my tail a bit to finally see what was right in front of my face.

Crap, I better not be believing in divinations all of a sudden.

It's then I not only remember Violet but I remember my manners.

"I – I guess I just mistook you for someone else," I explain quietly, pulling my eyes from the note, "I'm sorry."

Violet's expression drops like a potted plant on the floor.

"Oh, I see," Violet nods sadly, "well. . .I'm very sorry to have called you out like this then."

"Why _did_ you ask me to meet you here?" I ask sympathetically.

Violet hesitates, her hands gripping the end of her shirt in a tight, nervous manner.

"I'd really prefer not to say now if you don't mind," she doesn't look at me as she speaks, "you see, I know you'll listen and you'll be nice about it because that's just how you are. . .or at least how I think you are. Still, you'd probably just turn me down kindly but, as long as there was a chance, I thought I might risk it. Anyway, that's probably what would have happened regardless of all this misunderstanding. This way. . .I'm spared of being embarrassed for saying anything because I know what your reply will be."

I feel a stabbing pain embed itself in my chest as I feel for this girl.

"Violet. . .listen - " I begin but she raises a hand to cut me off from the rest of my sentence.

"No I don't need any explanations or apologies. . .and most certainly no pity," Violet requests simply, "all I'd like to know is if. . .if it's really as hopeless as I think."

I feel my breathe stagger from my mouth uneasily. I consider Violet's inquiry, all the things I have been feeling today, all the moments that have been building up over the past month or longer.

Most specifically, I think about the single odd moment just before Violet walked into the Greenhouse.

"I'm afraid it is," I say to myself as much as Violet.

Violet nodded again, this time in silence as she left the Greenhouse. Her eyes were brimming a bit over with tears. I would have liked to comfort her but I doubt I'm the person for the task at the moment considering I'm the one who just made her miserable. That and I was doing my best to try and comfort myself.

And it was hopeless. . .just like Violet said and just like I agreed.

It was hopeless to go back to things as they'd been running for what seems like ever now. It was hopeless to wash this day from my memory and go back to the norm I had so desperately wanted to establish. It was hopeless to make myself ignore all these feelings alive beneath my flesh and violently beating heart, denying the reason for it.

In short, it was hopeless for me and Winifred to be friends like we had been.

I crossed the line of every platonic relationship. The one that forbids you to ever acknowledge someone as a person you're undeniably attracted to. The one that expressly prohibits a dependency beyond simple friendship. The one designed to prevent you from ever imagining what it would be like to kiss and embrace them or spend any small part of your life in their exclusive company.

The same one that makes a very mad idea seem like a very good one.

A low chuckle escapes my lips before I realize I'm laughing hysterically at it all. Collapsing to the floor, my voice bounces against the panes of the Greenhouse as I feel tears stream down my face from the irony and humor of it all.

You have to admit, there's something inherently amusing about a Gryffindor loving a Slytherin. And, even more so, my loving in all affects a Snape.

I know I'm laughing.

Just like that. . .

. . .in spite of every reason and effort to resist. . .

. . .I'm drawn undauntedly to probably the one person in the world who should give me the most pause.

I guess this just happens to be like the Irish poet Thomas Moore had once said:

"Came but for friendship, and took away love."

I am so buggered.

I'll worry about that once I'm done with my laugh.

Maybe I'll listen to some Billie Holiday while I'm at it.


	36. Misery and Other Company

Late Breaking News

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: jkit10

"Happy Birthday, Winifred," Sirius wished as he handed the now seventeen year old girl a wrapped though oddly shaped gift.

Winifred looked up from her book and grinned almost in disbelief at Sirius as he took a spot by her underneath the beech tree she had been lounging by.

"You actually bothered," she noted.

"Of course I did," Sirius sat beside her, "what else have you gotten?"

"Not much since I keep it on the mum," Winifred admitted, "Severus gave me this book that explains how with the combination of certain plant clippings and potions I can rebreed species of plant that was previously extinct."

"That's interesting," Sirius nodded along. It actually wasn't that interesting to himself but he could see how Winifred would like it. "What did the rest of your family give you?"

"Severus's parents sent me a Cache Nexus," Winifred said as she held up what looked to be a velvet hand bag with tassel drawstrings, "it's magically connected to anything I own. I merely have to think of an item, reach my hand in, and I'll pull it out just like that. And whenever I put something into it, it automatically goes back to where it belongs."

As a demonstration, Winifred reached into the bag and pulled out her broom, a recent copy of _Witch Weekly_, a spare tie, and half a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate.

"Hey, that's pretty neat," Sirius was really impressed by that gift, "not only do you not have to worry about ever packing for anything again but you'll never lose anything or be stolen from again!"

"That's mostly the idea," Winifred said as she began to replace items back into the Cache with the exception of the chocolate, "do I get to open your gift now?"

"Please do," Sirius encouraged.

Peeling off the wrapping slowly both Sirius and Winifred had expectant looks upon their faces.

Encased in a glass dome and appearing as though they were growing out of its wooden base, three stems with nearly a half dozen bluebells dangling from them stared out at Winifred. The translucent shimmering told Winifred that the flowers were made of crystal and the vibrant perfection of them suggested as though they had actually been grown this way. A faint chime from each of the bell-shaped indigo buds vibrated in the glass and created a soothing melody as well as a pun on their namesake.

Winifred's lips were parted and her eyes were wide. Sirius wasn't sure that he had ever seen that much emotion on the girl's face before, let alone one what was as euphoric as this.

"Where did you get this?" Winifred breathed.

"I got the casing out at Hogsmeade, the flowers I just picked and transfigured into stained crystal. The music is just a charm I threw on to make it special," Sirius explained softly, "I figured I could combine your love of plants and music in a single shot."

Winifred tore her eyes from the gift to pin them on Sirius.

"I have never received something so precious as this," she confessed, "thank you, Sirius. Truly, it's beyond wonderful."

"I'm just glad I did alright," Sirius felt his cheeks grow slightly pink but stole a few short breaths to cool them down.

"You did marvelous," Winifred assured with a smile before kissing Sirius upon the cheek.

That was enough for him at the moment.

Anything more would have felt to Sirius like he was buying her emotions.

"So does this earn me the right to know why you hate your birthdays?" Sirius questioned as he playfully reminded Winifred of their bargain.

"Yes," Winifred nodded as she moved her fond gaze from the carved flowers to Sirius, "but can I tell you another time since it's actually a happy birthday this year?"

"I can wait," Sirius promised warmly.

The quidditch match scheduled for the Saturday in May was a welcomed distraction for all of Hogwarts students from their upcoming final exams, O.W.L.s, and N.E.W.T.s respectively. The air in the Great Hall was vibrating as Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were psyching themselves up with the remaining Houses deciding upon their favorites.

Getting something of a late start, the Marauders were among the last members of their House to arrive for breakfast.

"Nervous Prongs?" Remus inquired as the four boys stepped through the double doors.

"Never," James put up a convincing front.

He was always a bit anxious before every match, especially when the Cup was on the line, but after several years of playing the sport for Gryffindor the feeling was virtually a tradition at this point.

"Hey, congratulations Black!" A younger Year Ravenclaw wished as she passed the boys for her own table.

"Thanks!" Sirius replied warmly as he continued on to the Gryffindor table with the rest of the Marauders.

"What was that about?" Remus questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Haven't a bloody clue," Sirius shrugged.

"Then why did you thank her?" Peter demanded.

"I like being congratulated," Sirius divulged to no one's surprise, "it makes me feel special."

"That's my best friend, the mongrel idiot he is," James sighed as he took his usual seat next to Lily and turned to her, "going to wish me luck before the match?"

Lily leaned in and kissed her boyfriend on the mouth in a way that was affectionate without causing McGonagall to chide them from her place at the Head Table.

"Good luck," Lily smiled before she turned thoughtfully to the other Gryffindors in her Year, "I heard that in Transfigurations next week Professor McGonagall is planning on teaching us the theory of Apparition and Disapparition since we'll be of age to do it after this year."

"Finally, free use of magic without threat of expulsion," Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

"So are they going to teach us how to Apparate before the examination?" Arabella questioned.

"At Hogwarts? No," James shook his head while reaching for the marmalade, "no one can just appear or disappear on the school ground."

"How do you know that?" Peter expressed awe.

"Remember how we all read _Hogwarts: A History_ when we were trying to figure out if there were any secret passages in the school?" James frowned at Peter, "am I the only one who bothered to retain any information from the book."

"Yes because it was boring," said Sirius grinning.

"Anyway, I imagine that they'll teach us the basics of it and then we practice at home or possibly at Hogsmeade before we take the test at the Ministry," guessed Remus.

"I heard it's really complicated to do," Gwen said with a slight whine, "I always bungle the complicated spells and I don't want half of me to separated 3 meters from the other half. I just hope we get to practice at school since I'm a muggle-born and all."

"Stop yer belly-aching," Cassidy yawned, "Millie or I will help yeh out if yeh need it."

Gwen looked positively jubilant at the news of this and returned to her breakfast with gusto. Trying to wake herself up for the match, Cassidy poured herself another cup of coffee.

"I heard they're putting Wilkes on as the announcer fer the match," Cassidy interjected in the conversation.

"Yeah," Sirius confirmed, "apparently Davy Gudgeon, the Ravenclaw they usually have cover it is in the Hospital Wing recovering from a hex someone placed on him so mouths fly out of his mouth every time he opens it. McGonagall asked Winifred to cover because she remembered the girl chatting up the sport one day after Transfigurations."

"That's rich! I'll bet she hexed him just so she could have the job!" Peter snorted, "I've only been hounding McGonagall over doing it for years and she just hands the job off to that-that-"

"That _what _?" Sirius challenged hotly.

Peter abandoned his sentence but took to glaring at Sirius as though he somehow had a hand in helping Winifred into her announcing position. Sirius returned the glare before he took to ignoring him altogether. Thankfully a distraction in the form of Bill Weasley presented itself.

"Hey Sirius, congrats!" the redheaded boy beamed, "you must be happy for your sister."

The 6th Years perked up as the looked between Sirius and Bill.

"You going on about her promotion a few months back?" asked Sirius who had finally become curious as to what people were congratulating him for.

"She got promoted?" Bill questioned, evidently not following as closely along as Sirius would like, "it didn't mention that in the article I don't think."

"Article?" Sirius repeated before he turned to Millicent who gave off a small gasp.

She was biting her lip while reading that day's edition of the _Daily Prophet _since she, Remus, and James were the only ones who bothered to subscribe to it and neither of the boys had unrolled their copies yet. She stole a wary glance at Sirius before passing him the section in question.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," said Millicent in a weak voice.

"Sorry?" Sirius continued to repeat those around him as he looked down at the paper. James and Remus were now tearing open their _Prophets_ with Lily and Arabella reading over their shoulders. Cassidy leaned down the bench and pinched a copy off Mundungus Fletcher who gave an audible protest. She, Peter, and Gwen ignored him as they read on for themselves.

Sirius's blue eyes poured over the text as they appeared to be simotaniously attempting to widen and narrow. His body began to tremble as he continued to read on.

"SON OF A BIT – "

All the Great Hall turned in response to Sirius's outburst. Professor McGonagall was already throwing her napkin on her plate with an irritable expression as the rose and started towards her House table. On the other side of the Hall, the Slytherins were craning their necks curiously and laughing over the impending trouble Black was going to find himself in.

"What's that about?" Winifred wondered as she peered over the distance of the hall at Sirius waving his hands wildly while his friends attempted to coax him into his seat bodily.

"You speak as though I have any insight into the actions of the emotionally unstable," Severus said aloofly, although it was obvious he was interested in what was causing Black such duress.

"Well whatever it is has something to do with the paper," Serpen Nott pointed out.

The Slytherins watched McGonagall lead Black off near the entrance of the Hall while he was gesturing madly to a _Daily Prophet_ in his hand while justifying his behavior to her. Quickly grabbing their own copies of the _Prophet_, the Slytherins all started to page through for the offending article with expectant and amused looks upon their faces.

"It's on page nine!" Regius Avery announced gleefully.

A rustle of papers lead the House over to the section mentioned.

**MALFOY AND BLACK: TYING THE KNOT AFTER NINE YEARS?**

**By: Rita Skeeter**

A chiming can be heard on the horizon that sounds faintly like wedding bells. To the Wizarding World, the announcement of Aurora Black and Lucius Malfoy's imminent engagement will undoubtedly be a wildly celebrated union of two affluent family lines. For those of us who have known both of the betrothed party from our days at Hogwarts this sort of news has been anticipated for almost a decade.

Lucius Malfoy, (25) a handsome and charming representative for the British Ministry, was gracious enough to provide this journalist with his comments regarding the on and off relationship he and Miss Black entertain.

"_Aurora and I have indulged exploring our options time and again however we always seem to end up right back where we were once the dance is over. And that happens to be together," _explained Malfoy with complete confidence on the topic,_ "I think both Aurora and myself recognize that the time for coy games has passed us and I expect that we will be walking down the same path most respectable witches and wizards in our place would take."_

Miss Aurora Black (25), recently appointed Jr. Head of the Department of Magical Catastrophes, was unavailable to confirm Malfoy's assessments however she has been scene about London in designer gown relaters. Amos Diggory (26), presently a colleague with the Ministry of Magic and former classmate who remembers the couple from Hogwarts, was available to comment.

"_Those two (Malfoy and Black) were the most popular couple back in school,"_ Diggory reminisced,_ "In many ways they still are I suppose. People still talk about both and they practically attend every functioning worth mentioning together. The only surprise about any of this is they've taken so long to get around to it."_

Breathlessly awaiting the proposal to be formalized by a ring upon the soon-to-be Lady Malfoy's hand it won't be long before people grow curious as to what the arrangements for the wedding will entail and how public the event shall be. Predictions are already being made that see the ceremony and receptions as being once of the most extravagant affairs of the decade knowing the flashy reputations and wealth of recourses both families possess.

This journalist would like to go on record stating that she's certain we can't begin to imagine what the future for Malfoy and his vivacious bride will be.

"Bloody hell," Aaron Lestrange studied the report next to Mary Tudor, "I would have thought Malfoy might have had a bit of taste than to mingle with the Blacks. He's mates with my brother you know."

"Weren't Black's sisters all in _Hufflepuff _?" Mary sneered as though it were a dirty word.

"I really don't get why this would bother Black," Florence shrugged, "I thought someone had died by the way he was carrying on."

Severus said nothing as his peers attempted to debate the significance of the article in their usual drawls. He reread the article several times before rolling it up and placing it into his robes. Rising from his seat, Severus addressed the table.

"Anyone who is interested in attending the match, follow me now," Severus barked over the heads of his housemates, "I have no desire to file in to the stadium with the mindless banter of the other Houses pounding in my ears."

Rising without argument, the Slytherins exchanged glances as they flowed after their Prefect.

"What's his problem?" Florence asked Winifred.

"Being Severus mostly," Winifred shrugged.

James was right along with Remus and Peter trailing Professor McGonagall as she ushered the still raving Sirius from the Great Hall. He had barely crossed the threshold of the room before McGonagall spun around staring at him.

"Mr. Potter, I believe the situation is well in hand," she said briskly, "your attention would be best served to your team."

"But Sirius – ," James started out before he was cut short.

"Is fully capable of explaining himself and has Lupin and Pettigrew to fill in the blanks," McGonagall replied, "now off with you!"

Seeing no point in arguing further, James held his tongue and marched back into the Great Hall only to be intercepted by pale figure known as Ophelia Atropos who had just stepped off from the Ravenclaw table to meet him.

"Potter can I have a word?" Atropos requested calmly.

"Er, okay?" James nodded curiously.

This was odd for James since he wasn't entirely certain that he had ever spoken to the Ravenclaw girl before, though her supposedly psychic reputation did proceed her as well as her recently becoming a replacement Seeker for her House team. James couldn't help but wonder what she would want to talk to him about an hour before the game.

"I would like to give you a suggestion for the game today and I can only hope you take me seriously," Atropos explained; her voice as thin and pale as the rest of her, "I thought it would be enough if I replaced the Seeker on my team but I saw last night it wasn't."

James shifted and ran a hand though his hair.

"Um, look, Atropos," James said in as polite a tone as he could manage, "I know you think you're a Seer or something but I really don't buy into all this. Now if this is just Ravenclaws ploy to spook me into losing this match I can't say it's going to work well or that I really appreciate it."

"I understand your skepticism, Potter but I'd rather you just hear me out all the same," Atropos said insistently, "I want you to lone Cassidy Kinkade the wrist-guards you always wear for the game today."

"What?" James raised his eyebrow at the odd demand.

"I don't know why but I think that if you lend her your quidditch bracers Kinkade will be better off," Atropos pressed on.

James had expected some ominous warning that would predict certain doom if he or certain members of his team played or predictions of grand misfortune if Gryffindor caught the snitch too soon.

James certainly hadn't expected wardrobe changes.

"That's ridiculous," James scoffed, "why would such a trivial thing matter?"

"If it's so trivial then what's the harm in doing it?" Atropos challenged simply.

"Well it's – look that's not the point," James felt himself getting a bit flustered at the oddity of it all.

"Potter, please, call it superstition or madness or whatever you like but be sure you give Kinkade your regular bracers," Atropos said in almost a plea, "it won't do a thing to any strategies you have planned and shouldn't impair either of your games."

James studied Atropos. For whatever reason she sincerely believed that it was vital he comply with her wishes. Feeling a slight amount of guilt over bothering her even if she was being silly, James nodded.

"Fine, I'll give Cassidy the bracers. Alright?" James agreed with a sight.

Ophelia Atropos smiled and nodded in return as she and the rest of the Ravenclaw team began to head off. James went to say goodbye to Lily and collect his own team while fighting a chill running the length of his spine.

In the Gryffindor changing room, James had just finished his usual pep talk to inspire his team and they were strapping on the last of their gear. James toyed with the idea of simply flying onto the pitch without bothering to entertain Atropos's nonsense since there was really no way the girl would know if he kept his word or not.

The only problem was that he _had_ given his word to entertain her nonsense.

Chiding himself to being yet another ridiculous person buying into mysticism and omens, James walked over to Cassidy and held out his wrist-guards to her.

"Here, I want you to trade these with me for the game," James insisted gruffly.

Cassidy gave James a queer look.

"Why? Yeh spit in them or something?" she demanded with a chuckle.

"Because I'm the captain, that's why," James replied shortly.

Cassidy continued her quizzical stare but took the bracers and exchanged them for her own. Fastening them on, Cassidy eyed James.

"I don't recall yeh ever bothering about my uniform before, what's getting on with yeh?" Cassidy wondered before a slightly enlightened look crossed her face, "doesn't have anything teh do with that Atropos girl talking teh yeh before does it?"

"You know I don't believe in that stuff," James said without meeting Cassidy's eyes, hopefully passing it off as applying his new set of bracers, "now get your broom so we can head out on the pitch."

Obeying her captain once again, Cassidy finished with the last strap of her gloves and headed towards the green. The rest of the Gryffindor House team followed along as they awaited for the cue from the announcer to soar out onto the pitch.

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen this is Winifred Wilkes hosting in place of Davy Gudgeon. Welcome to the final match of the season which pits the defending champions of GRYFFINDOR against the eager challengers from RAVENCLAW. The winner of this match will fly off with no less than the Quidditch Cup! Speaking of flying here comes the Gryffindors captained by JAMES POTTER. . ."

"How could she do this to me?" growled Sirius.

The balls had been released and the match was underway for over five minutes but Sirius found himself having trouble enjoying it.

"Actually I don't think this has anything to do with you, Sirius," Lily observed, "I mean it is your sister's life."

"FLETCHER and KINKADE take to volleying a Bludger between them before sending it off to clip ACKERBEE in the shoulder and making his pitch off the Quffle veer off the mark of KINGSTON!

Sirius's head jerked nearly off the neck as the glared at Lily. Remus and Peter flinched as they attempted to psychicly communicate to Lily that she needed to promptly abandon this subject.

"But I want what's best for her and Malfoy is such a far cry from that he should be banned by the Ministry of Magic!" Sirius insisted adamantly.

"Well did you ever stop to consider that maybe she's actually keen on this Malfoy?" Lily countered in her usual even tone as she craned her neck to watch what was happening in the game.

"POTTER intercepts a pass for KINGSTON and drops it down to FINN. Finn takes it to the Ravenclaw Keeper, CARTWRIGHT with a bit of fancy broomwork and . . .AND SCORES! TEN MORE POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius's eyes went wide at the mere mention of this with an odd twitch developing around one of them. Remus and Peter each groaned into the sleeves of there cloaks as they were certain they had just heard Sirius's brain implode within his skull.

Everyone else in the box was on their feet whooping insanely over their House taking the lead.

"No I haven't, Lily, and do you know why that might be?" Sirius's voice teased on the brink of manic at this point and Lily was being very generous with her bewildered look upon him.

"BECAUSE THE SHEER NOTION IS INSANE THAT'S WHY!" Sirius hollered, "MY SISTER ISN'T KEEN ON MALFOY! SHE'S ONLY KEEN ON ME!"

Lily blinked at Sirius along with pretty much everyone else in the Gryffindor box as his ranting could be heard over the cheers of the crowd.

"Do you have any inkling of how much of a spoiled brat you sound like at the moment?" demanded Lily, "Honestly Sirius! Your sister's a grown woman isn't she? You can't expect her to just sit around and adore you for the rest of her life."

"Of course that's not it!" Sirius pouted, "Aurora can get bloody married. She can get married 100 times for all I care just so long as none of them have Malfoy meeting her at the alter!"

"POTTER and HIGGS are elbowing it out for the Quaffle with FINN and ACKERBEE in narrowing pursuit. After a rough negotiation with his knee, Potter claims the Quaffle and pitches it clean to WELSH who is up the pitch."

Sirius emitted a guttural noise before trying to pay attention to the game again. Lily gave up on talking to Sirius and turned to Remus and Peter.

"I think I'm missing something about his feelings on this Malfoy character," Lily confessed to the other boys.

Peter and Remus only shook their heads since they have been hearing of the evils of Lucius Malfoy ever since they first met Sirius Black and knew that the idea of having him as a brother-in-law was probably Sirius's biggest concern.

Doesn't mean the two weren't tired of hearing about it.

"Loads, Lily," Remus rolled his eyes, "you're missing LOADS."

From the Slytherin box, the body of the House maintained an only half interested in the events of the match as their team wasn't playing. Mostly they were just hoping that Gryffindor would blunder in some humiliating fashion so they could jeer at them later on about it. Regius Avery was keeping a marginal concern towards the game until Severus Snape spoke up next to him.

"Do you still have the intention of escorting Millicent Meeks around Hogsmeade?" Severus inquired smoothly.

"What of it?" Avery shrugged indifferently.

"I've deemed this an impossibility, Avery," Severus informed coolly, "you'll have to amuse yourself some other way next weekend."

Avery gaped at Severus before chuckling and shaking his blonde waves.

"Look, Snape, if you had some sort of interest in her or arguable reason other than you care to be a prat about this, I might consider it. Of course, since that's not the case, I think I'll proceed just as I care to," Avery drawled smugly, "Simply put: you don't scare me and you can't bully me."

"Is that what you assume?" Severus raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"It's what I _know_," Avery countered curtly.

"Well I suggest that you become certain of something else," Severus's voice came out even, "otherwise, if I see you so much as five meter in Meeks's radius I'll expose you to hexes I'm not entirely certain they've developed counter courses for yet."

Avery's eyes narrowed at Severus but there was still a nervous, flickering quality to them.

"Are you threatening me?" he demanded indignantly.

"And they say you aren't clever, Regius," Severus smiled without humor, "I won't have you spoiling my partner not only for Heilsing's project but in various classroom labs because you're either bored with or have exhausted your other options."

"Oh it certainly would be a pity if you were inconvenienced," Avery replied sarcastically.

"The question really is _whom_ would it be a pity for?" Severus's black eyes bore into Avery's.

Deciding to give Avery the opportunity to let his advice sink in, Severus devoted his attention between the game. This, therefore, made him rather oblivious to Aaron Lestrange tapping Avery on the shoulder.

"You two can have your row later," Lestrange insisted in a hushed voice, "right now keep your eye on the Beater."

Avery turned his attention back on the game.

"Which one?" Avery said with interest rather than concern.

"Kinkade. She's about to get a little lesson in minding her own bloody business," Lestrange answered with a sneer, "just don't do anything to block Mary's view."

Avery glanced at Lestrange's girlfriend to see her focusing her eyes intently on Kinkade's broom. Her lips were barely moving and the only sounds coming out were in low hisses.

It didn't take a Headboy to figure out Tudor was jinxing Kinkade's broom.

"Wicked, Mary, positively wicked," Regius turned back to the pitch grinning.

When he wasn't directly involved with a play (or avoiding a bludger) James found himself stealing glances at Ophelia Atropos.

So far she was doing about the same thing for Ravenclaw Hattie Sinclair was doing for his own team as she scanned her head about looking for the snitch and occasionally flew to a different location of the pitch in search of it.

Seeing the quaffle being pitched towards him, James sized it from the air and speed off. The roar of Hogwarts spectators followed close behind as James weaved below a Ravenclaw Chaser and veered off just in time to miss a bludger. He dropped the altitude of his broom just enough to have the opposing Keeper wonder what the hell he thought he was doing before rocketing back up and sending an underhand pitch clean through a hoop.

"And Potter earns ten more points for Gryffindor bringing the score to 250 to 90 in Gryffindor's favor!"

Grinning triumphantly James circled back so he could help the other Gryffindor Chasers steal the quaffle back and do it all over again.

It was out of the corner of his eye that James saw it happen.

Just finished in her sharp sailing of a bludger on Ackerbee's tail with both hands on her bat, Cassidy's broom shuddered violent before throwing her clean off as it flipped itself a clean 180 degrees. A collective gasp rose from all around the stadium as James felt his eye bulge at the sight of Cassidy plummeting twenty or meters toward the green head first.

"KINKADE IS THROWN FROM HER BROOM AND FALLING STRAIGHT ON TO THE GREEN!"

Abandoning any care of a quaffle, James turned and speed his broom after Cassidy. His mind insisted that he would never be able to reach her before she hit the ground but he refused to pay it any heed even as she was only a few meters from the ground while he was still speeding up the pitch.

Convinced he was about to watch his friend's skull shatter against the ground, James gaped in shock as he saw Cassidy's arms shoot out in front of her and hit the ground first. Pausing in the briefest of handstands, James watched her body vault off from this position and forced Cassidy into a tight roll before landing on her feet. Standing up shakily, Cassidy dusted the grass of her uniform in what appeared to be a completely unharmed state.

The crowd was cheering exuberantly. Not only for Cassidy's safety but for Ophelia Atropos's successful snare of the snitch.

"Taking advantage of the discord, Atropos claims the snitch and earns RAVENCLAW 150 POINTS. Unfortunately the score rests 250 – 240 making GRYFFINDOR THIS YEAR'S WINNERS OF THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

James ignored both the outcome of the game and Wilkes's parting commentary as leapt off his broom to run the rest of the distance to Cassidy.

"What just happened?" James asked frantically.

"I dunno," Cassidy shrugged. She was attempting to look calm, but her ragged breathing and high pitch were showing just how scared Cassidy had been. "I was just on my broom when it bucked me off then I was falling. I thought fer sure I was going teh break my neck until these bracers yeh made me wear held themselves out and took all the force of the fall!"

"I don't see why they would – ," James halted in the midst of his sentence.

Those were the bracers Lily had given James for Christmas. The ones she had enchanted to keep him from slipping off his broom if he was holding on even slightly or cushion his fall if he failed to get a proper grip. The magical properties of the gift had entirely slipped James's mind over the past six months since he wasn't in the habit of falling from his broom all that much.

The question now was how did Ophelia Atropos know what even he had forgotten?

Searching for her amidst the Ravenclaw players, James wanted to pursue this further however was quickly swallowed up in the celebration of his team over winning the season with the rest of Gryffindor quickly emptying the stands.

Recognizing that he would have to wait another time to speak with Atropos, James tried to enjoy their House's victory.

Aurora Black swung the door of Lucius Malfoy's office in the Ministry open and shut so hard that the glass pane on it quivered in threat of shattering. Her blue eyes seethed like flaring stars with the features of her usually placid and beautiful face taunt with evident indignation.

Lucius smiled at the witch.

It was always a rare treat to see Aurora so livid.

"Why Aurora, what brings you into the office on a Saturday?" Lucius observed the obvious with contained glee, "I hope nothing dire."

Aurora stormed over to the desk he was sitting so smugly behind and tossed that day's edition of the Daily Prophet at him as a demonstration of rage. Lucius pulled the bound parchment onto his desk and smoothed it out neatly.

"Something troubling you in the headlines, my dear?" Lucius questioned coolly.

"Why don't you read your handiwork on page nine," Aurora said each word on a wooden note.

Lucius flipped to the page Aurora suggested and skimmed over the article obviously offending her. He had already read the column earlier that morning with his tea and had a good chuckle before he met with personnel from the Department of Interaction Cooperation. Still it was fun to play along with Aurora's temper.

"My, considering how publicized all this is I would dare say it would be almost a simpler task to go through with the marriage than bother with a retraction," Lucius chuckled although Aurora doubted either of them were expected to take his words as a joke.

"You and I have wildly different interpretations of what would be a simple thing to do," Aurora informed with a grim expression.

"Oh lighten up, Aurora. After all you were the only one between us that every insisted had the sense of humor," Lucius rolled his eyes, "it is an exaggerated page 9 piece. I barely believe someone as composed as you is even bothered by such a sensationalized article."

A twitch developed on Aurora's face: just below the eye and just above the mole on her high cheekbone.

"People keep asking to see the ring," Aurora snapped.

"Is that a hint for me to go jewelry shopping?" Lucius raised an eyebrow with a quick grin.

Aurora slammed both her hands on the top of Lucius's desk as she glared down at where he sat with obvious venom.

"Well, perhaps a lovely heirloom piece then," Lucius replied with a slightly wider smile.

"I'm not laughing Lucius," Aurora hissed, "Rita Skeeter didn't just pull these ideas out of thin air."

"I ran into the woman a few days ago. It is been years since I've seen her and since we were once classmates I thought it would be nice to catch up. We discussed people we knew and naturally your name came up in conversation seeing as how the two of you were both Ravenclaws in the same year," Lucius justified smoothly.

"And you just happened to mention that we were engaged somewhere between when the appetizers arrived and the drinks were refilled?" Aurora snarled as she began pacing the floorboards.

Lucius seemed entirely too entertained by Aurora's irritation.

"If Skeeter took a fair amount of liberties with my end of the dialogue, Aurora, there's not much I can do about it. Of course I find it amazing that you are at all surprised she was so colorful in depicting our arrangement since you know her as well as I do," Lucius drawled in a bored tone.

"What arrangement?" Aurora scoffed, "as far as I was last informed, I dropped you like 4th Year Divinations just before graduation seven years ago."

Lucius's lips thinned out into a tight line as he looked to Aurora rather unappreciatively.

"What about your first month working for the Ministry two years after that?" Lucius questioned.

"Poor adjustment to a transitional period in my life," Aurora explained.

"And the 1974 Quidditch World Cup tournament?" Lucius pressed.

"I'd say a combination of heat stroke and alcohol made THAT seem like a good idea at the time," Aurora guessed.

"Oh and it was," Lucius agreed in a knowing sort of way that only himself or Aurora could get away with, "but then what would be your excuse for the international cooperation banquet just a few months after that?"

"YOU propositioned ME," Aurora spoke through her teeth.

"You went along with it," Lucius reminded with a smirk, "and rather enthusiastically if I dare recall. And there is always Winter Holiday last year. Just before I assisted you in smoothing things over with your delinquent brother?"

Aurora crossed her arms over her silk robes, unable to look at Lucius any longer.

"Everyone gets lonely around the holidays," Aurora stated with a long exhale.

"The point of all this, Aurora, is that things between us always seem to end up right back in the same spot. The only snare in anything progressing to some adult level is the fact that whenever I mention making things more serious you are one with the first excuse out of the relationship," Lucius observed eyeing Aurora as he rose from his desk, "I doubt many aside from myself would be so tolerant of your blatant aversion to commitment."

"I don't have problems with commitment," Aurora corrected with narrowed eyes, "I only have problems with being committed to _you_."

"Oh really?" Lucius's tone had a challenging quality as he approached Aurora more closely, "then please enlighten me as to what lover you have maintained for more than a few weeks aside from myself? Someone you actually brought home to meet your family so he could be tormented by your brother."

"Shut up, Lucius," Aurora murmured uninterested in him playing the analyst.

"So who are you seeing now?" Lucius pressed with interest.

"What makes you think I'm seeing anyone?" Aurora questioned coldly.

"You are always seeing someone when you are not seeing me," Lucius stated as though it were a fact of the universe, "I was just curious. . ."

"I don't see why," Aurora shrugged, "last I heard you were seeing that woman Madam Snape introduced you to at Vernal Equinox."

"Narcissa La Fae?" Lucius said as though Aurora not saying her name meant more than her simply not bothering to commit it to memory. "Are you jealous by my courting another woman?"

"No," Aurora replied flatly as she eyed Lucius's close proximity to her, "of course if I was her I'd be _very nervous_ about how the man courting me was spending his office hours."

"I am not seeking out a fight, my dear," Lucius soothed as he stood before Aurora and met her gaze, "all I am suggesting is that I believe we are both getting a little long in the tooth for your playing the same games you employed in school."

"Then I think you should move on," Aurora decided for the both of them.

"And I advise you to pause on that rather hasty thought," Lucius recommended in a silky voice, "at least until after you have either discarded your recent amusement or he has grown tiresome of your flightiness. Until then, I think many Wizards would be disappointed to see that the Ministry spends their tax galleons on you realizing you are not exactly entertaining a more suitable option than myself."

"You really don't get it, Lucius," Aurora's smile merciless and frigid, "I've always got the best option of the two of us because it's not as though you can walk out on yourself now can you?"

Aurora threw one last distasteful look at Lucius's smug face before turning on her heel and storming out of the office.

Lucius waved his wand to shut the door, sneering at the perfume still lingering in the air of his office.

In the Gryffindor commons the House was celebrating wildly over their victory in quidditch. James and the rest of the team had spent the first hour enduring peels of praise from their Housemates; however, Cassidy was truly the center of attention for the evening. Many people demanded to hear her story over and over, but somewhere around the tenth time Cassidy gave the account Gwen McGinnis broke down into tears and threw her arms around Cassidy.

"I WAS POSITIVE YOU WERE GOING TO _DIE_ !" sobbed Gwen.

Completely thrown by this, Cassidy just stared down at the smaller girl with a surprised expression. She was blushing as the room stared at her and Gwen interlocked and attempted unsuccessful to pry the girl off her

"Well what are yeh fer? Yeh disappointed I lived or something?" Cassidy joked awkwardly.

"_SEE_ ?" Gwen shrilly bawled on, "IT'S INSULTS LIKE THAT SHOWING OFF HOW MUCH OF A COW YOU ARE THAT I WOULD HAVE MISSED THE MOST!"

James laughed to himself off on the side as Lily joined him.

"Those two are brilliant friends," Lily stated as she cuddled under James's arm.

"Yeah," James nodded, "still, I'm a little unnerved by it all. I mean, not only for the fact that Cassidy could have been horrible hurt but because that Atropos girl practically predicted it. I mean, if I hadn't given Cassidy the bracers you fashioned for me like she asked. . ."

James took a sip of his drink rather than carry on with that thought. Lily patted him reassuringly on the front of his chest.

"That's not even the end of it," Lily informed him, "Bronwyn Weaver mentioned to Gwen after the match that Magda Hothorn, the usual Seeker ended up passing out in the stands. They had to hurry her off to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey discovered she was having a violent allergic reaction to something she's still working out. If she had been playing, she might have fainted off her broom."

James felt chilled by all this sudden, divine intervention surrounding him.

"I think I'd like to talk with Ophelia Atropos sometime soon," James decided grimly.

"I don't blame you. This was a very eerie day," Lily said before throwing James a bright smile, "still we should be enjoying ourselves."

"Yeah, you're right," James agree, kissing Lily on the forehead, "any immediate suggestions?"

Lily's features contorted in a slightly mischievous way as she glanced around to see if anyone was listening in on them.

"Well I was thinking, now that Professor McGonagall's off, that maybe we could have something of a private engagement in my room," Lily smiled in an entirely suggestive way at James.

James lost a fair amount of interest in his beverage as he took to grinned broadly as Lily.

"Yeah?" he said with a dopey expression not uncommon to seventeen year old boys who have received similar propositions.

"Yeah," Lily nodded, "of course I see no reason to announce it to all of Gryffindor so I'll just sneak on ahead of you and you can follow along in a moment."

"Sounds brilliant to me," James agreed as he kissed Lily on the cheek before he watched her saunter off.

Doing his best to look entirely innocent and completely not anticipating impending snogging, James took to leaning against one of the stone walls and smiling casually to the people who passed him by.

It took a little effort to keep appearances up when Sirius decided to join him. James was hoping that Sirius was still fairly distracted by the news of his sister's engagement to be too obnoxious to him. Sirius was obviously trying to enjoy the party and force the bad news out of his head but James caught his best friend scowling when he thought no one was paying attention. He was also pretty sure that he had seen Sirius excuse himself from the party in favor of, as much as James could guess, the Owlry once.

Smiling, James shared a fraternal hug with Sirius as a greeting.

"Well here's to another phenomenal Gryffindor victory," Sirius toasted as he raised his glass to James.

Knocking the goblets against one another, Sirius watched James take a large sip of his punch before thoughtfully adding to his salute.

"And here's to you trying your damnedest to pretend you're not about to race off for heavy petting with Lily."

James gagged audibly on his swallow with wide eyes. Deciding that Sirius had purposefully waited for him to choke on his drink, James chose to spit it up on the front of his best friend's robes as a reward for his timing and wit.

"Oh that's _lovely_ James!" Sirius laughed it off as he stared as his suddenly drenched attire.

"You had it coming you randy prat," James chuckled as he wiped off his mouth.

"Well, I think I'll be changing now," Sirius shook his head as he went up towards the boys' dormitories with a wink, "of course I doubt I'll be the only one of us to shed some clothes."

James groaned at his friend and set his drink down. Scanning around one last time to be sure the Head of their House was nowhere present, James casually meandered over towards the stairs leading up into the tower and headed towards the prefect's room between the dormitories. Rapping on the oak door, James smiled as Lily swung it open and grinned up at him.

"Hello there James," Lily greeted coyly, "care to step inside for a bit."

James had a truly amused quality to his face as he took a step towards the doorway leading in.

It vanished promptly when some kind of invisible forced propelled James several yards up and through the air, leaving him to stumble a skid a it more along the landing floor. He had managed to push himself onto his elbows just as Lily rushed over to his side. There was a slightly accusing expression on James's face as he reflected on how eagerly Lily had been to get him up to her room.

"Was that some kind of joke?" he demanded.

Lily didn't look so much concerned anymore as she did scandalized.

"Of course not!" Lily insisted shrilly, "you had better be suffering some trauma to the head to carry on like that at me!"

Climbing to his feet with Lily steadying him, James joined Lily in a quizzical stare directed at her doorway.

"Then what the bloody hell just happened here?" James questioned although he doubted Lily had any answers for him.

It was then Sirius padded down the steps with a clean shirt and a curious glance.

"Taken to exhibition then eh?" Sirius teased the couple.

James only rolled his eyes while Lily seemed to be on the verge of saying something indignant until it dropped off for a more contemplative surveying of her bedroom.

"Sirius, would you please try to walk into my room?" Lily requested.

Sirius raised an eyebrow to Lily before shrugging.

"Alright," he agreed as he walked over to the doorway.

James and Lily both took a generous step back. One second later a suddenly airborne Sirius joined the pair at their feet in a similarly explosive manner as James. Scrambling to his feet, Sirius pointed to Lily's bedroom very much riled.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL JUST HAPPENED THERE?" asked Sirius in a hot tone.

"That's what we're working out," James shook his head, at an obvious loss, "same thing happened to me just before you."

Sirius turned back to the door before erupting into fits of laughter that inspired him to crumple back onto the ground.

"Oh that's _rich_!" Sirius insisted gleefully, "McGonagall's locked James out!"

"What?" James gaped.

"I think the hyena's right," Lily sighed bitterly, "when Professor McGonagall caught you in my room just after spring holiday she probably thought it would be wise to make sure you didn't just happen to find your way in again so she put up some kind of barrier spell."

"Fan – BLOODY – tastic!" James groaned as he grabbed fistfuls of his scruffy hair in frustration.

"What's going on up here?" Peter's voice called from the stairs as he emerged with Remus and Arabella right behind him.

"Yeah, why all the shouting?" Arabella questioned as she eyed her three friends from under Remus's arm, stopping on Sirius, "and why is he so positively manic?"

"Apparently the Head of our House thought my girlfriend required a restriction on her bedroom visitors," James grumbled as he carefully approached the doorway and examined it, as though expecting to find some evidence of the charm being used.

"Come again?" Peter furrowed his brow.

"McGonagall put a barrier spell on Lily's door that prevents men from walking through. . .and rather violently I might add," Sirius translated helpfully and happily.

Not that he wanted to have his close friends put out and otherwise impaired like this but Sirius could appreciate the humor in the situation.

"Does it do the same to girls?" Arabella mused as she joined James near the doorway.

"I'm the only one who walked through it so I can't say," Lily admitted ignorance.

"Oh," Arabella said as she prepared to step through until Remus pulled her back.

"What are you doing?" Remus demanded, wide-eyed, "Are you looking to get yourself hurt?"

"It doesn't really hurt so much as surprises the hell out of you," Sirius commented with a smirk.

"Well there you go," Arabella replied as she pulled away from Remus and crossed uneventfully into Lily's room, "well it would appear that it's only a 'no boy's allowed' rule. Sort of like the stairs to the girls' dormitory."

"I still say that's bloody hypocritical of them all," Peter muttered with a scowl, "I heard that the Slytherins are free to come and go as they please."

"Probably in multiple senses I'd reckon," James grumbled still studying Lily's door.

"Oh yes, the Slytherin's certainly set an excellent standard for us all to rise to," Lily huffed disapprovingly.

"You're pretty up in arms for a woman who just tried to sneak her boyfriend off into her room," Sirius noted with amusement, prompting Lily to blush and not look directly at anyone for the moment.

"Well she probably left it open for girls to pass through otherwise you wouldn't be able to get in at all. . .or anyone else if you needed help," Arabella said thoughtfully.

James stepped back and threw a bright look to Lily.

"Hmm, if it's just a gender-based barrier than that shouldn't be too hard to take off," James announced encouragingly.

"James, I doubt McGonagall would charm the door with something so elementary against you if she was determined to keep you out," Remus reluctantly rained on James's parade.

"Most likely," Lily chewed her lip, "since she's suspected something for about a month that means she's either been researching all this time for something neither of us would know about or it's so complicated see needed to prepare that long just to make it work."

Everyone noticed James swallowing a decent amount of rage as he stared at the doorway with utter loathing. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses at the thing which presently mocked not only his love life but magical aptitude. It was no longer a matter of imposed celibacy.

It was a matter of pride.

"I am OFFICIALLY devoting every spare moment of my time and intelligence to taking this invisible wall down!" James declared war before glancing to Sirius, Remus, and Peter, "how about it? You going to lend your brilliant minds my way on this?"

"Always nice to know that I'm putting my magical education to good use," Remus said dryly with a roll of his eyes.

"I think that's Remus's way of committing us whole-heartedly to this noble cause," Sirius quipped.

Peter nodded along since it wasn't as though he had anything better to do with his spare time.

"Good to know your friends are always willing to rally around you in the interests of you seeing a bit of flesh and action," Lily snorted.

Arabella's expression suggested that she was taking note of how pathetic this all seemed as well. The boys stifled laughter between them before James just shrugged as he smiled charmingly at Lily.

"It's a guy thing, luv."

Passing through the green flames of the floo, Aurora not only stepped into the Black ancestral manor. . .she stepped into an assault of questions as her family swarmed from all corners of the house to greet her in the front hall with varying expressions.

As far as their immediate family was concerned, Celestine and Sirius were the only two who seemed to have a real problem with Lucius Malfoy being a persistent part of their sister's life. Acontiae and Mrs. Black were very much charmed by the young wizarding pureblood and Mr. Black, as in most other things concerning his eldest child, tried to maintain full confidence in her personal judgment.

"Aurora this is wonderful news!" Mrs. Black cooed as she threw her arms around her daughter.

"Congratulations!" Acontiae beamed with satisfaction at Aurora.

Neither Celestine nor their father appeared to share the same enthusiasm as the other two.

"Yes, grand to hear about it first hand along with thousands of other loyal subscribers," Celestine said dryly.

Mr. Black frowned beneath his dark beard while studying _The Prophet_.

"I agree with Celeste," said Empyrean Black, "I would have expected a well-groomed young man like Malfoy to have the decency to at least approach the family if he was serious about marriage rather than just let it run with the presses."

"Why _didn't_ you mention things were heading in this direction?" Acontiae wondered at her eldest sister.

"Probably because he only _just_ knocked her up," Celestine guessed bitterly.

"CELESTINE BLACK!" Madalyn Black screeched at her middle daughter.

"Well someone had to say it and Sirius is off at Hogwarts probably tunneling out so he can murder Malfoy," Celestine said in a resigning voice.

"That's not what happened is it?" Mr. Black paled a bit.

"If you could all please stop congratulating or accusing me, I'll tell you," Aurora replied in a short tone that snapped her family to attention.

She had just left the ministry and had intended to clear things up face to face with the family she could before writing to Sirius and Severus Snape explaining what happened. Her mood was dark and her patience was thin presently.

Before Aurora could even part her lips, a tapping against the window caught the room's attention as an Owl was fluttering with a post in an effort to get their attention.

"It's probably a letter from Sirius," Aurora predicted.

Acontiae opened the window and accept the post before her eyes went wide.

"No, it's a _howler_ from Sirius," the youngest Black daughter reported as she flipped the crimson envelop to Aurora.

Aurora stole a deep breath and opened the smoking post before it exploded in on itself.

" – COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, AURORA! MALFOY? MALFOY! DID YOU JUST WAKE UP THIS MORNING AND DECIDE TO MARRY THE WORST WIZARD ON THE BRITISH ISLE? HE'D KILL CHILDREN AND KICK PUPPIES IF HE THOUGHT IT WOULD GET HIM AHEAD! I HOPE HE'S THERE RIGHT NOW! I HOPE I'M INTERRUPTING SOMETHING REALLY, REALLY PRIVATE SO HE KNOWS THAT I THINK HE'S A NANCY BOY WANKER THAT I'LL BE HEXING EVERY HOLIDAY WHEN HE ASKS ME TO KINDLY PASS THE ROLLS! HE IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE MY BROTHER EVER!"

"JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR I'M NOT COMING TO ANY WEDDING UNLESS IT'S TO TALK SOME BLOODY SENSE INTO YOU! SERIOUSLY _MALFOY _? I COULD LIVE WITH YOU MARRYING VAMPIRES OR FLUBBERWORM BUT THIS? YOU BETTER NOT HAVE KIDS WITH HIM! I WILL NOT BE THE UNCLE OF SOME FOUL SPAWN HE RUINED YOU WITH! THAT'S NOT IT, IS IT? YOU'RE NOT MARRYING HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE HAVING A CHILD ARE YOU? OH MERLIN I DON'T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT HOW THAT HAPPENED BUT YOU HAVE OTHER OPTIONS! ONES THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MALFOY! I TAKE IT BACK, I'LL BE A FINE UNCLE TO THE KID SO LONG AS IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ITS EVIL PATERNAL SIDE! OKAY?"

"NOW WRITE ME BACK BEFORE I BREAK OUT OF THIS BLOODY CASTLE! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

The Blacks watched the envelope shred itself into pieces, ears still ringing from Sirius's message.

"Told you Sirius would have said that," Celestine said miserably.

"Sirius is such a brat," Acontiae scowled at the pile of paper, "you know he would have just screamed all that at the top of his lungs if he had been here."

"Be that as it may, your brother has a point on how sudden this all is," Mr. Black waved his wand to rid the room of the remains of his son's message before looking to Aurora, "I think you should explain what's going on."

Sighing while showing all the physical signs of a headache, Aurora informed her family of y the exaggerated nature of the announcement along with Lucius's smug suggestiveness that he was merely gearing up in his attempts to pressure her into a relationship, Aurora watched her family's faces. Her mother appeared to be skeptical while her father scowled in a way that very much reminded her of Sirius. Acontiae listened carefully while Celestine huffed a bit at the audacity of it all.

Once finished, Mrs. Black approached her first born and put an arm around her.

"Are you sure you're not just being sensitive?" Mrs. Black questioned cautiously, "What I mean to say dear is perhaps you're reading into things a bit. If you're simply upset because of what Sirius said, don't worry, he'll come around. Your brother has always been – "

" – a git?" Acontiae offered.

" – spoiled under our affection?" Celestine contributed.

" – without much needed discipline?" Mr. Black finished.

Mrs. Black shot a nasty look at the other members of her family.

"I was going to say _spirited_ !" she hissed on behalf of her baby, "but the point I was making is Sirius speaks from the heart and whatever just pops into his mind so give him some time to adjust to all this before you make any decisions based on his influence."

"Mum, I know you like Lucius, but trust me when I say that even though I'm suspecting the worst of him at the moment I doubt I'm giving Lucius the credit he deserves," Aurora informed in a prickly voice usually uncharacteristic to her serene nature, "now if you'll excuse me I have to write Sirius before even further hell breaks loose."

"You can use one of my owls if you need to," Celestine offered, guessing that Aurora's own carrier dove, Helios, was probably still in London at her flat.

"Thank you Celeste I'll – " Aurora started before a thick smoke coming from her hand back caught her attention as well as everyone else in the room.

"YOUR BAG'S ON FIRE!" Acontiae screeched the obvious.

Aurora dropped her hand bag and stepped away from it. Still with his wand out, Mr. Black pointed it at his daughter's purse and used an extinguishing incantation on it. Aurora pulled out her own wand to help dissipate the smoke rising from it so she could actually inspect the damage done.

"Oh my what happened, dear?" Mrs. Black lowered the hand that had been placed over her mouth as she approached Aurora.

Peeling the singed lips of the purse open, Aurora's expression dropped as she peered inside.

"Was there anything important in there, Aurora?" Acontiae asked sympathetically.

"Not much. . ."Aurora reported softly, "but there was a book. . .it was a gift. . .it had meant a lot to me."

Aurora shut her handbag and looked as though she might sincerely begin to cry. Mrs. Black pulled her daughter into a hug and made soothing noises while the patted her on the back. Mr. Black took the purse from Aurora and looked it over, as thought to determine if there was any way to repair the damage to it.

Acontiae and Celestine studied their older sister with aching concern before turning to one another glowering.

"I think we should pay call on our 'brother-in-law'," Acontiae said in a wooden voice.

"Very much we should," Celestine agreed with whisper.

_Damn the Blacks and everyone who can claim kin to them._

This was Severus's persistent thought as he pulled his wand away from the clump of smoldering ash that had once been a silver book inscribed with the word _Endymion_. The mystical connection that allowed the books to correspond with one another ensured that both books would be annihilated with the incineration charm. He had hoped destroying such a literal connection to Aurora Black would have provided some catharsis in his dark mood, but it hadn't.

Severus still felt used and betrayed.

Mostly he felt dumb.

Bloody siren and her rocks.

One would have thought that after his calamity with Florence Copia and the tumultuous friendship he entertained with Lily Evans that Severus would be more wary of physically attractive women showing interest in him. Granted there was more than mere looks that had made Evans and Black worth socializing with however it was very obvious that these glamorous witches were a doomed type for him to associate with.

Cursing himself for having some sort of weakness that made him overlook major character flaws in favor of a pretty face, Severus saw little point in crying over spilt potions. He and Aurora had kissed and exchanged pleasantries with words and quills. There were worse losses to be hand in the world and, in a months time, this would just be one more lapse in judgment Severus would mold into his learning curve and be better for it.

All Severus could hope for was some karmic force saw fit to make Aurora Black repent for all her manipulative means to pass the time when Lucius Malfoy was indisposed.

He often referred to this creature as "mother".

Still, the last thing he required was making his mother aware of all this. Things were bothersome enough without the disappointment and insatiable vengeance of Erinyes Snape being thrown into the mix.

And it's not as thought suffering in silence was somehow new to Severus anyway.

Lacking the motivation to remove the singed paper from his desk, Severus allowed it and the scent of charred paper to remain in the room as he ignited a flame beneath his cauldron and began to gather potions ingredients. He was resolved to make the most complicated spell he could brew to keep his mind off Aurora. That or his lack of attentiveness might possibly cause an explosion and land him unconscious in the Hospital Wing.

Either sounded fairly appealing at the moment.

Exhausted from a night long celebration of their season triumph, Sirius still found himself a bit after lunch working with Winifred Wilkes in spite of his.

Sirius and Winifred had made studying in the conservatory a steady habit as the end of the term was on fast approach. The library was overrun with students frantically spending their last weeks before O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s in desperate bids for last minute studies. The other years who didn't need to worry about these important tests were feeling the tensions of finals and occupying nearly any other corner and common room in the school as they attempted to successfully finish out the year.

Sprawled on the floor, facing in on one another as they debated what points to include in their project for Defense Against the Dark Arts on the trying and incarceration methods of Wizards, Sirius and Winifred were able to work in relative peace.

Watching her write out a section devoted to what circumstance warrant evidence to be dismissed in a tribunal hearing, Sirius had to smile in slight amusement. Winifred did her homework with a faint smile on her face and lazy strokes of her quill. She carried herself with the air that suggested she believed she had all the time in the world and took everything with a healthy measure of leisure.

People wouldn't be nearly so quick to call Sirius carefree if they ever bothered to watch Winifred Wilkes at work.

Depositing her quill into the inkwell, Winifred slid the parchment over to Sirius to proofread and see if he concurred with how she phrased everything. Climbing to her feet, Winifred stretched in response to her hours spent on the hard wooden floor. Sirius sat up and scanned the waving print over.

"Look alright?" Winifred asked curiously of Sirius, while looking over her shoulder in mid-flex.

"Yeah, it's really good," assured Sirius, turning his face up to grin at Winifred.

"Hmm," Winifred either said or sighed. After she was done working out her sore muscles, she stood over Sirius with an appraising expression, "something on your mind?"

Her black eyes were fixed upon him as though he had somehow given her the impression he should be doing something in particular. Sirius flinched slightly. He had been attempting to keep himself as unassuming as he could; deeply worried that he would tip Winifred off to his less than platonic view of her as of late.

It was becoming obvious that he wasn't masking it all that well.

"Nothing, really," Sirius shrugged with a feeble smile. He abandoned the parchment and joined Winifred on her feet.

"So what happened the other morning in the Great Hall?" asked Winifred, "It was quite a performance."

Sirius grinned and shook his head.

"Oh that, yeah, it was one worth 10 points from Gryffindor" Sirius chuckled, "um, someone at the _Daily Prophet_ thought it would be hilarious to say my eldest sister was tying the knot with a bloke I really can't stand. I went daffy because she's always so on again and off again with the toe-rag I've been sort of afraid that would happen half my life. But she sent me word as soon as she could to let me know it was all a big lie."

"Well I'm glad it worked itself out," Winifred nodded, "I'm surprised you didn't end up losing more points though."

"Well, McGonagall had to do something but she knows how I get with my sisters," Sirius sighed, "She taught Aurora before I got here but liked her a lot and, I get the impression, she didn't have that high an opinion of Malfoy when she was seeing him back then. My either sisters, Celestine and Acontiae were enrolled at Hogwarts with me for a while and I'd get weird if I thought some creep was trying to warm up on them."

"Yes, I think my brother Whitney was one of the victims of your brotherly love," interjected Winifred, "he was in Hufflepuff and I think he had an interest in Celestine for a time. He ended up having his school bag stuffed to the brim with dung bombs if I recall."

A nervous laugh passed through Sirius's lips.

"Oh, sorry about that," Sirius muttered apologetically.

"Why?" Winifred said indifferently, "I don't like my brothers. . .or, I should day they don't like me."

Sirius felt himself tense slightly and frown to this.

"Why not?" he spat indignantly.

"I suppose it's the usual sibling things," Winifred relinquished vaguely, "maybe because I'm the only girl in the family or because they and my father were in Hufflepuff while I'm in Slytherin."

"Well that's just dumb," Sirius decided, "what does your mother say about all that?"

"Not much, she's dead," Winifred explained.

Sirius felt a small amount of bile rise in his throat.

"Winifred, I'm sorry I didn't – " Sirius started to apologize before Winifred shook her head.

"She died giving birth to me, Sirius, I never knew her like Whitney, Wyatt or my father," soothed Winifred even though Sirius felt like he should be comforting her.

"Is this why you don't like your birthdays?" Sirius questioned.

"Yes," Winifred agreed softly, "but really, it's all quite fine. Please don't put yourself out over it."

Forcing himself to relax a bit, Sirius nodded as a show of hearing Winifred's request.

He groaned inwardly as he realized how difficult it was keeping up the pretenses of a sympathetic friend. To not be able to try and comfort her past the simplest gestures and words. Granted it wasn't as thought Sirius had been consciously grinning and baring through all this for all that long but he was never really one for subtlety and took great pride in knowing that he was one of the few people who had no qualm in always speaking his mind.

This felt like Sirius was not only lying to Winifred but himself.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Winifred pressed as she took a step closer to face Sirius, "you've been so peculiar lately. You have this constant look on your face like you're about to deliver bad news."

Sirius dared a look at Winifred and wondered if the expression she was talking about was upon his face.

"It's not that . . ." he explained weakly, ". . .I'm just in this constant state of feeling like I'm about to do something _really_ stupid."

Winifred smirked.

"Like that's ever stopped you before," Winifred chuckled.

Sirius bit his lip and closed his eyes. Leaning his head back he stole a deep breath from the air before looking at Winifred once more with an expression that wasn't perplexed or anxious.

Just resolved.

"You're right. . ." said Sirius gently with a step that brought him right before Winifred.

". . .it hasn't."

She stopped smiling and was staring up at Sirius, her eyes searching his face for something Sirius wasn't entirely certain she would find straight away.

Of course, ever helpful, Sirius intended to over her a big hint.

He placed a hand on Winifred's narrow shoulder first. Sirius wasn't entirely sure if this was meant to be a prelude so as not to take her completely off guard or an effective means to keep her from running off. Her face turned to stare at his hand in a slow motion. He placed the fingers of his free hand underneath her chin to gently guide her face back. Winifred didn't resist the gesture and set her eyes back on his. There was no curiosity or amusement that he typically found within them.

Just the dulled realization of what was about to happen.

Her lips parted with the intent to speak.

"Sirius – "

Sirius had no desire to learn what the rest of that sentence was.

Before she could do or say anything in protest, Sirius mouth was on Winifred's. It wasn't forceful or demanding embrace, rather soft one. His lips caressed hers in slow, almost probing beats that were the complete opposite of the fluttering rhythm his heart was entertaining. It was like Sirius's first kiss all over: exhilarating and nerve-wracking. When he thought he felt Winifred slowly kissing him back, this spurred Sirius on to enter deeper into her mouth.

_KNOCK, KNOCK_

Sirius pulled his face from Winifred's so they could both turn to find Florence Copia standing in the doorway of the conservatory and wrapping politely on the frame. Her black coils of hair drooped around her head with a narrowed look set into her olive-skinned face.

Sirius felt as though a large stone had dropped into his stomach while a burning fire sprang through his veins. He removed his hand from Winifred, eyeing Florence sharply and took a step back.

Winifred appeared to be mimicking his reaction at the moment.

"I just saw Heilsing call Severus into her office. She looked horribly cross when I came upon them and Severus wasn't much cheerier. By the way Mary was crowing in the dorms I'll wager she's finally found a means to get back at him for embarrassing her and Aaron," Florence disclosed, eyeing Sirius and Winifred, "Of course maybe you're a little too preoccupied to be bothered with all this right now. . ."

Winifred's grim expression showed that she was processing Florence's words deeply. Making her way to the exit of the conservatory, Winifred hovered in front of her fellow Slytherin briefly.

"Not a word to anyone, Florence," Winifred instructed with a rigid quality to her expression.

"What's in it for me to not drop this into casual conversation in the House commons?" Florence teased with a beaming smile, "I would have thought you'd very much like to be the center of attention."

"Well you know what they say, Florence," Winifred's tone was indifferent but her entire demeanor was anything but, "if you don't have your health then you have me as you enemy."

Leaving things at that, Winifred hurried off without so much as glancing back. Florence's look was beyond bitter as she watched Winifred depart before turning it on Sirius.

"So what's the smart comment going to be on this?" Sirius demanded, fully expecting to launch into his usual games with Florence.

He was feeling particularly defensive since his ex just walked in on him snogging her friend and sent her off running after the person he loathed the most without even getting a chance to gage how Winifred had reacted to it all.

"Mostly to the effect of considering the track record between the two of you it's almost like the both of you are kissing everyone in the school," said Florence coldly.

Blowing some hair out of his face, Sirius leaned arms crossed against the piano.

"What's this about?" asked Sirius irritably. "Don't tell me you're jealous. I mean you couldn't possibly think there was anyway you and I would ever come back together after all that mess before."

"This isn't about you, Sirius," Florence hissed as she walked up to Sirius sneering, "It's never been about you."

"Then what _is_ it about because where I stand you have no room to be angry about _anything _!" Sirius growled back.

"It's about _her_," Florence clarified with venom.

Sirius paused as he stared at Florence with pale, scrutinizing eyes.

"Come again?" Sirius wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

"It's about Winifred and how, for some _ungodly_ reason, things always go best for her," Florence ranted through her teeth, "how she's no better a Witch than I am but she manages better grades and the teachers like her more. She masterminds some of the wickedest things that happen in this school but people _actually_ like her and cover for her so she won't get caught. There's not a solitary special thing about her but she has respect in Slytherin as well as people who just go along with her."

It was odd for Sirius to see Florence carry on like this. She was always so blasé and a bit clueless, making it hard to assume anything dented her brain half the time. At one point Sirius assumed the most complicated thing about the girl was her insatiable need for attention from people she thought were talented, intelligent, or popular, as if them wanting and acknowledging her would some how make her as special as they were.

But this raving, envious Florence was almost a stranger to Sirius.

"I thought you and Winifred were pretty friendly most of the time," Sirius spoke in a voice that exhibited his confusion.

Florence stopped sneering long enough to offer a long and humorless laugh.

"_Friends with Winifred?"_ Florence said this as though it was the most absurd thing she had ever heard, "I always loved your sense of humor Sirius."

"So you don't like Winifred," Sirius stated the obvious.

Staring out darkly from behind her black coils of hair, Florence glared.

"I hate her. I've hated her from the moment we were sorted into the same House and I've only hated her more with each passing year," Florence brought the picture into clear focus, "It's – it's beyond infuriating to watch someone who is completely and utterly your equal, someone no better than yourself achieve so much more than you for no good reason."

"I never picked up on any of this," Sirius confessed.

"If she _knew_ I hated her then how could I take Winifred apart at the seams?" Florence stated with a malicious grin she could have borrowed from Mary Tudor.

"Actually, Florence, I was referring to the part about the two of you being on equal footing," Sirius corrected coolly.

It was satisfying to his very soul to watch that smile drop clean off her face with that comment.

"I've had my triumphs," Florence assured, "I am vindicated whenever I steal the bits of glory Winifred so desperately desires right from her grasp. I show her the hell of having everything in the world handed to you without ever even touching the things you most want."

"Such as?" Sirius pressed.

"'Such as'?" Florence shrieked, obviously offended that Sirius hadn't taken noticed already, "_Such as_ Snape! _Such as_ I know she secretly was entertaining some perverse leanings toward her cousin but could never get him to look at her with more than a brother's eyes. I got from Snape the one thing Winifred could never have and always longed for."

Florence paused as though she was relishing in her own brilliance before she smiled at Sirius and finished.

"I got to see him look at me not as a sister but as a woman."

Sirius could only gape at the Slytherin girl and how maddened she was with her jealously of Winifred. He was also very put off by the implications of what Florence was saying. She was describing some manner of unrequited love on Winifred's part for her own cousin and Sirius wasn't entirely sure how much of that Florence had invented in her head as a product of resentment towards Winifred.

"So then why did you fool around with me?" Sirius wondered aloud, "you _supposedly_ had Snape around your finger that that's _supposedly_ what Winifred wanted the most. You threw that all away on me. Good show, luv!"

"The hell I did!" Florence spat indignantly, "I saw what was going on. I saw you looking at _her_ and knew that before long you'd be cozying up with Winifred like you cozy up with everyone. I knew if I played you and Snape against one another you both would hate each other infinitely more than you already had. And if that happened you would have nothing to do with Winifred because she was his cousin and she would have nothing to do with you because her cousin hated you. Possibly the most popular boy in our Year would be completely inaccessible to her while I not only arranged the whole thing but partook in what she could never have."

Sirius sneered at the thought of being some pawn to reinforce Florence's vindictive delusions.

"And you obviously regret none of this?" Sirius demanded.

"Only that I couldn't have kept the whole thing juggling on a bit longer," Florence said airily, "I think the look on Winifred's face would have been marvelous if I could have told her I shagged her cousin. That and if I had swayed you into it then I'm sure you and Snape would have been positively volatile once the scandal of you bedding the same girl came out."

Sirius was floored by all this.

A part of him had always thought that Florence wasn't well suited for the slings and arrows of Slytherin. She wasn't ambitious or cunning and although she was a bit selfish and something of a snob, Florence still seemed to lack the cruelty that all her peers, even Winifred, were capable of demonstrating.

This moment shattered that image of Florence for Sirius.

"So your whole life for six years has centered around sabotaging Winifred's," Sirius reeled, "do you even appreciate how pathetic you sound?"

"What?" Florence breathed.

Sirius was guessing that Florence had wanted him to be appalled or impressed or even intrigued by all of these things.

Instead Sirius just found it all very sad.

"You're pathetic," Sirius repeated, "instead of trying to do something with yourself that might find you a talent or define you as an individual you've just lurked behind Winifred waiting for her to skin her knee so you could snigger in secret. And then, when you bother to put some effort into making her life miserable, it's all a waste."

Sirius shrugged at Florence.

"I mean, you walked in on us snogging after all," Sirius reminded, "and I don't hate her for her blood."

"But Snape will hate her for you!" Florence pointed out in an almost desperate pitch, "Do you think she'll choose _you_ over Snape? Ha! Sirius, you're so thick and arrogant if you believe that. Snape HATES you and he would hate her if she took you on. Winifred has idolized and worshiped him her entire life, what do you have to throw against that? A sampling of your roguish charm and a clever wit for a few months. . .if at all?"

Florence paused and locked eyes with Sirius as though to allow this to sink in.

"Do you get it now, Sirius?" she questioned, "you're a passing amusement that Winifred will only soon become ashamed of and it will all end with you, Snape, and Wilkes despising one another, alone and miserable."

Sirius cursed his chivalry at the moment because he so desperately wanted to slap some sense into Florence at that moment. She was obviously quite mad with paranoia and feelings of inadequacy and should be largely ignored since her perception of reality could be, in no way trusted. Still, Sirius found himself continuously fighting back the chilling suspicion that Florence might have a kernel of truth rooted in her dementia. And that was more than enough to make his uncomfortable.

"You're just a barking loony aren't you?" Sirius shook his head at the girl.

"I'm just miserable Sirius," Florence explained with a worn and hate-filled expression, "and I like company every so often."

"Why the hell did you even tell me all this?" Sirius seethed, hands balled at his sides "It's not like you can go back to pulling people's strings now can you?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Florence rationalized, "it's a new game Sirius with Aaron Lestrange and Mary Tudor making the rules up as they go along. Aaron just trumped Snape and he'll be stripped of whatever power he once held by Heilsing before the day's out and Mary's already crowing about how she'll have Winifred in her pocket before the year is out."

Florence just grinned vacantly at Sirius like some hollow doll.

"Don't you see? Everyone's already picked the teams, filled in the score cards, and received their trophies. And nobody even asked if you wanted to play."

"What's Tudor planning for Winifred?" Sirius took several menacing steps in Florence's direction. She shrank slightly but still stood her ground.

"I don't know," she spat the words with chilling sincerity, "but I imagine whatever it is will be excluding you."

Unable to take anymore of Florence and her disturbing company, Sirius slammed his hand into the nearest wall as a show of frustration and stormed off.

Florence remained for a few minutes longer to hug herself a bit and recompose herself before returning to the Slytherin commons.

It was odd how misery loved company but always found itself standing alone at the end of it all.

Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange were lying on her poster bed in the 6th Year room of the Slytherin dormitory, evidently reading when Winifred glided into the room. Her black eyes honed in on the pair. While this wasn't the first or most provocative time Winifred had walked in on the couple, there was nothing innocent about their presence.

"What precisely do you two think you're doing?" Winifred demanded as she glared coldly between Aaron and Mary.

"Well nothing too indecent considering we both have our clothing on," Aaron reasoned smugly.

"Calm yourself Winifred, we're merely reading to one another," Mary explained as she glanced up from the book resting between her and her boyfriend.

"I was referring to Severus," Winifred's voice was icy as she crossed her arms.

"Oh that," Mary smiled like a knife, "well that's your fault."

"Pardon," Winifred refrained from flinching at the implications.

"You remember Serpen Nott's spill back in January," Aaron fielded the couple's reply, "well apparently Snape was under the impression that you pushed Nott down the stairs and used his skills as a Prefect and creepy git to bully Nott into lying about what happened to everyone. He intended to cover for your misdeed but, it turns out, it wasn't your deed at all was it?"

"Out of curiosity, who did push Nott and why are you taking the wrap?" Mary pressed with a measure of interest.

"So you turned Severus over to Heilsing because you're bitter on how he foiled your date-rape fantasies with Potter and Evans?" Winifred asked, ignoring Mary.

Mary and Aaron shared an unappreciative sneer at Winifred's turn of phrase.

"I'm not sure I want to talk about the book anymore," Mary said in a mock pout as her eyes burned into Winifred's, "not with her salty attitude being what it is."

"Don't say that, darling," Aaron mock soothed as he copied Mary intrusive gaze, "think of the look it will put on her face."

"What are you two babbling about?" Winifred said testily, growing tired of the couple's games.

Mary held up the leather-cover book to show Winifred.

"Look familiar?" Mary questioned.

"Should it?" Winifred shrugged.

"I was just wondering how many diaries are lying around that belong to people named Winifred," Mary replied.

"None because I'm not stupid enough to keep a written confession of my day's events," Winifred insisted with her black eyes narrowed on the book, "for expressly _this_ reason."

Mary and Aaron's eyes bore into Winifred's in an attempt to see if she was lying. Everything about her demeanor was unflinching as Winifred stared down the couple with all the confidence in the world concerning her claim. Aaron could feel Mary tensing as she was undoubtedly beginning to bubble over in rage against the undaunted Winifred and the witless Hufflepuffs that placed this red haring into their possession.

And then Aaron had an epiphany.

"It's not hers," Aaron told Mary as placed his feet on the floor and rose from the bed, "come along, Mary."

Mary threw Aaron a traitorous look.

"What?" She hissed with a threatening chime at the end.

"Well it's not," Winifred said apathetically.

Grabbing onto Mary's arm, Aaron gently led her off.

"Let's leave Winifred to contemplate the fate of her cousin, shall we?" Aaron recommended as he tugged a resistant Mary along with him.

Giving up her struggle with an audible snarl, Mary followed Aaron out of the 6th Year bedchambers and stalked through the girls' dormitory and into the commons. Mary threw herself onto one of the leather sofas like a child in a tantrum. She spied some younger year Slytherin giving her an odd look.

"BUGGER OFF BEFORE I CARVE OUT YOUR EYES AND MAIL THEM TO YOUR PARENTS TO THEY'LL KNOW JUST HOW TERRIFIED YOU WERE WHEN I STARTED WORKING THE LOT OF YOU OVER WITH RUSTED INSTRUMENTS!" Mary roared at her Housemate's causing them to quickly scatter. Aaron smirked at the fleeing underclassmen and took a seat next to his girlfriend and put an encouraging arm around her.

"How can it be _nothing_ !" Mary lamented tragically.

"Oh it's not 'nothing', my love, it's something," Aaron assured in a comforting tone, "it's something more precious and interesting that we ever thought."

"How do you mean?" Mary tried to follow Aaron.

"The diary doesn't belong to Winifred," Aaron explained with a broad grin, "however it once belonged to her namesake."

Mary thought on this for but a second before she was joining Aaron in his smile.

"Her mother. Her mother's the author."

"It explains why there are enough similarities to have convinced us it was Wilkes but clears up all the discrepancies that came with it," Aaron nodded enthusiastically.

"And here I thought she was just a wonky psychotic with a bizarre handle on time and reality!" Mary laughed, "I mean, honestly its coy ego was hinting at things, people, and places that made no sense."

"No sense unless they happened over twenty years earlier," Aaron agreed, "What do you wager she'd give to know the mother who died birthing her? To have any inkling of that woman, who she was and what she was capable of? This little chatting book is the only way for Winifred to ever connect with a person she'd never know otherwise. What would she give?"

"Well her soul can belong to Grindelwald but we could own everything else about her," Mary glowed, "she would be indebted to us permanently."

Aaron frowned slightly.

"But what if she decides she doesn't want it?" he mused.

Mary gave a reassuring smile as she lovingly stroked Aaron's face.

"She'll want it," Mary promised with a purr, "as much as I want you."

In a fluid motion, Mary mounted herself across Aaron's lap and began to tease her lips along his neck. Aaron let out a small sigh to this and closed his eyes, bringing his hands to Mary's back to help steady her place over him. As it became evident that Mary had no intention of letting up on her attentions, Aaron spoke up through a heavy, rasping voice.

"What if someone walks in? We are in the commons after all." Aaron questioned without sounding particularly put out by the thought.

"Then they're going to know just how pleased I am with you right now," Mary said slyly as she started to pull Aaron's tie undone with her teeth, "and just how very lucky you are in general."

"Brilliant," Aaron smiled suggestively.


	37. Reaping What We Sew

Reaping What We Sew

By: Oy! Angelina

Severus was wordless as he sat before Professor Heilsing, head of Slytherin and Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. For her part, the grayed teacher sat with her piercing eyes on him as though she anticipated some interesting change. Evidently bored with his lack of volunteering anything, Heilsing addressed her Prefect.

"Can you guess why I called you in here?" she asked.

"I could but that would be rather incriminating in the long run," Severus replied.

Heilsing's mouth twitched into either a smile or a sneer before shifting back into a firm line. It was hard to tell from Severus's vantage point.

"It was brought to my attention that you might have taken certain liberties with your position as a Prefect," the Professor cut to the chase. "Specifically Nott's 'accident' from January back."

Severus knew bloody well who brought this to Professor Heilsing's attention and also could guess that there was probably little to hide on the subject at this point. Still, he refused to divulge anything without Heilsing revealing it first.

"It was indicated that your cousin, Winifred Wilkes, may have had some involvement with it and you helped sweep it under the rug," Heilsing finished.

"You have been misinformed," Severus stated.

Heilsing's eyebrows raised like silver arches.

"Have I?" she questioned.

"Winifred didn't so much as point a wand at Nott that day. She had nothing to do with his unfortunate tumble," Severus replied.

"But someone did," Heilsing decided.

"It's possible but that would be giving Nott the credit of possessing the required faculties to walk and think at the same time ," Severus half-agreed with a blank expression. "Nott is wildly unpopular when he doesn't choose to be so irredeemably pathetic it's not worth the hex. I suppose I could really go either way on this."

Professor Heilsing was back at eyeing Severus in a most intrusive manner. Severus was uncertain of what she expected he would offer her through the course of this inquisition but he was determined that she'd be entirely disappointed.

"So why did you tell Nott to say he fell if you weren't protecting Wilkes? I can't believe you'd go to all this risk and trouble just to make Nott a liar. You had some motivation," Heilsing pressed.

Severus said nothing.

Heilsing used the silence as an opportunity to smile with a sincere and great amusement.

Severus couldn't suppress a scowl. He doubted Heilsing thought a Prefect abusing his badge was truly humorous which left him to assume that she was just mocking him.

"Why do you find this situation in any way entertaining, Professor?" he asked curiously.

"Because it is," Professor Heilsing said simply. "Because your entire reasoning behind all this is truly amusing."

Severus's black eyes honed upon Heilsing.

"Then please enlighten me so I can share in the miff," he urged with an undercurrent of sarcasm.

"You were protecting someone," Heilsing said decisively. "You were protecting Potter."

If it was possible, Severus's eyes narrowed more.

"Pardon?"

"You knew Nott would say it was Potter. That he'd pin it all on the boyfriend of the girl he roughed up. After all, Potter would be a likely suspect. Of course that probably didn't sit right with you," Heilsing explained. "You're shrewd and unforgiving, Severus, but you're at the least sporting."

The Head of Slytherin smiled at Severus with a look that almost resembled pride. For a second it was almost half expected by Severus for her to offer a measure of applause. The entire air in the room would have been utterly twisted if it wasn't just so Slytherin.

Severus couldn't bring himself to share in Heilsing's satisfaction.

"Shouldn't you be asking me to turn over my badge?" he said finally.

He was bored with this scenario and wanted it to end by any means rather than having to endure it a moment longer.

Heilsing gave an open snort to this.

"And who would I give it to, Severus?" she said in a tone that suggested he had just said something entirely ridiculous. "Copia, Undercross, Nott, and Avery are a collection of spoiled brats that will marry into wealth and receive cushy positions of prestige thanks to nepotism. They don't deserve the position and I'm not inclined to just hand it to them. Tudor, Macnair, and Lestrange are sadists on a remarkable level and I'd find it to be a small wonder if they didn't end up in Azkaban. The only other option I'd consider would be Wilkes but I'm certain she'd either do nothing with it or just wait on your advice. And I don't need a follower as my Prefect."

"You know, the other Heads of the Houses actually bother to attempt liking their pupils and guiding their development," Severus said bitterly.

"And if you heard the other Heads of the Houses gave you all vanilla ice cream and kisses on the forehead before bed would you be whining about those as well?" Professor Heilsing snapped irritably, "Wake up, Severus! You are surrounded at all sides by varying degrees of degenerates and sociopaths. I cannot afford to be lenient with you or your peers because you mutually reinforce all the rotten tendencies a Slytherin could ever have the misfortune to obtain in their efforts to refine ambition and cunning."

Severus was taken slightly aback by such candid observations from an instructor.

"Frankly the lot of you are spoiled, rich kids who are far too accustom to always having things go their way that you never stop to wonder if you'll end up chocking on your silver spoons," Heilsing shook her head in utter disgust.

Severus felt something seeth beneath the surface of his flesh.

"You expect me to apologize for being born into a privileged life and monopolizing off the perks of it?" he asked through his teeth. "If so, perhaps we should call Potter in here since his family is far more affluently than my own."

"His family is also dead," Heilsing spat as though the words could slap Severus in the face.

Releasing a loud breath through her nose, Heilsing rechecked her composure as she looked at Severus less like a student and more like and adult.

"In all honesty, I do wish I could do more to change things in this House but I'm working with a major handicap," Heilsing stated in a wooden voice. "How much fight do you think I can give against dysfunctional families, twisted upbringings, and unconscionable peer groups? I'm one person Severus, the most I can do is encourage the few every Year that show signs of a soul and hope they aren't corrupted too much by the rest of the rotten lot."

"And you think I'm a better person than my contemporaries?" Severus asked with a mixture of skepticism and curiously.

"Yes," Heilsing said without hesitation. "I gave you the position of Prefect because you are in general trustworthy and it would show you that there is more merit and satisfaction in being a social leader than a blind follower or obscure outcast. Wilkes isn't so bad either when she's not spying or tormenting peers. Her work with Herbology suggests there might be something delicate and nurturing about her if given the proper outlet."

She paused before looking into Severus's eyes once again. As though she was warring within over whether or not she should tell him something. Deciding there was little use in attempting to prompt the woman, Severus just waited for her to speak once more.

"Do you know when I knew you would become Prefect for your House, Mr. Snape?" Professor Heilsing spoke as though it were more of a demand than a question.

Severus didn't bother to reply since he didn't believe in answering rhetorical questions.

"It was the final quarter of your 2nd Year. Do you recall what happened then?" Heilsing asked more directly.

Severus pondered briefly before his features stiffened slightly with his reply.

"That was when Potter's parents were killed. Along with what remained of the extended family," Severus replied.

A silence hung in the room like a dark cloud over water: ominous and reflecting everywhere.

There were a myriad of things Severus could name about Potter to be contemptuous of; however, he had always deeply respected Potter for recovering from that. As obnoxious as his personality was, Potter had refused to be broken by his tragedy and, in some way, may have been made better for it as he had to rely upon and impress only himself now.

"When the rest of House spent the remainder of your 2nd and the majority of your 3rd Year jeering at Potter for being an orphan, I never heard you sling such insults at him," Heilsing remembered, "you continued to spar with words, as you had before, but you never brought his family into your trading of insults no matter what. You didn't treat Potter differently. You didn't restrain yourself out of pity nor resort to any low blows. I think Potter appreciated that from you since you were the only one at the time not reminding him of how so much had changed. That period said something about you as much as it did Potter, Severus."

Severus blinked at this. It was too queer to her Heilsing praise him for continuing to berate Potter after the deaths of his parents like it was some amazing service.

If Heilsing was aware of Severus's confusions she offered no indication of such as she continued on with her words.

"I wanted the Prefect of Slytherin to be shrewd, cunning, and ambitious. . .everything our House honors. However I wanted one with integrity most of all." She said firmly. "I could have easily made someone like Tudor or Lestrange a Prefect in your place but then what kind of House would Slytherin have become? You are respected and feared within Slytherin because you deserve it and that has kept many others in line. Also, your sense of justice and personal scruples has probably kept more than one from being allowed to degrade more than necessary to survive in Slytherin. You may not know it, Severus, but you may have saved some souls within your House and saved others outside of it from the monsters your peers had the potentiality of becoming."

Severus drank this in. He had given Heilsing the credit of being indifferent or otherwise oblivious to the condition of her house but the startling reality was she seemed rather up to speed. Severus decided that given the alternative of an astute Professor Heilsing walking in his midst he was far more comfortable when he had his false assumptions.

"May I be excused then?" he said darkly.

"Yes," Heilsing agreed.

Severus rose and made his way to the office doorway. His fingers had only brushed the doorknob when he heard Professor Heilsing call after him.

"One last thing, Mr. Snape," she spoke up. "If I ever hear of you covering up the assault of another student, I'll take my chances on Wilkes and see that you're expelled for it."

Severus sneered as he exited the office with a sharp slam.

Now that was the Heilsing Severus knew.

Still weighed down by content of Heilsing's meeting, Severus returned to his room with a desperate desire to begin shoving these unfavorable past few days from his mind with homework, reading, or whatever else he could conjour to preoccupy himself with. Entering his room, Severus went rigid when he saw his cousin Winifred seated in a chair with an expectant expression.

"What are you doing in _here_ ?" demanded Severus.

"Waiting for you naturally," Winifred replied.

"No, Winifred, how did you bypass the security charms I had upon the door?" Severus's said, eyes narrowed.

Winifred waved her hand dismissively at Severus as her eyes bore into his. There was a definite expression of concern on her face.

"What happened with Heilsing?" Winifred asked persistently, "what did Tudor do?"

"Ironically nothing save for blowing the whistle on me," Severus stated as he crossed the room so he could look more directly at Winifred, "you remember the Nott affair from earlier this year?"

"Don't tell me you got blamed for that!" Winifred exclaimed, "I'll march over to Heilsing this very moment and confess the whole thing."

"You'll do no such thing because I know you're not responsible," Severus said glowering, "the only thing I do not know is why you are so willing to take the credit for this."

Winifred shifted in her chair but gave no indication that she intended to discuss the matter, which left Severus to guess.

"Was it Black?" inquired Severus, "Are you covering for that mangy delinquent?"

Winifred provided a scoffing laugh.

"You're always so quick to accuse Sirius it's hard to know when you're being astute or simply petty," Winifred noted in a bland tone.

Severus stiffened before he took to looming over Winifred.

"'Sirius'?" Severus sneered the word out, "you're on a first name basis with Black now?"

Winifred paused. For a moment something in her expression flickered as though she was aware she had just divulged something better kept unsaid. She recovered admirably quick but there was still a guilt about her.

"I've been working shoulder to shoulder with him for a month now, Severus, I'd say I'm familiar enough with Black at this point to use his given name from time to time," said Winifred coolly.

"How _familiar_?" Severus pressed venomously as he inched his face closer to her own.

Winifred drew back slightly. Her black eyes widened and wandering as though she were looking for a means to escape the conversation physically. However this soon gave way to a defiant expression as Winifred's own eyes narrowed.

"How _familiar_ are you then with his sister?" Winifred parried.

It was Severus's turn to withdraw bodily.

"What are you suggesting?" Severus hissed in a low voice.

"That your feelings towards Sirius don't quite extend to all the members of his immediate family," Winifred said in a low voice.

"I have no idea where or how these notions fell into your head. . ." Severus started with a hint of menace.

"Oh stop it, Severus," Winifred cut him off, "I'm neither blind nor simple. I saw the two of you at Vernal Equinox being very casual."

"Hardly damning evidence, Winifred," Severus informed.

"Well the stack of letters that bare her return address certainly add a bit of weight to the theory," Winifred darkly replied.

Reflexively he returned to the pile of unopened posts on the edge of his desk before whipping his head back around to burn twin holes into Winifred.

"Forgive me Winifred, but after you broke into my room did I detain you for so long that you required reading material to pass the time?" Severus's voice was very low and very dangerous at the moment.

"I noticed them on your desk, they were hardly locked away in Gringotts, Severus," said Winifred warily.

"I had _intended_ to return them back to sender before I found myself entertaining guests," Severus reported.

Aurora Black had been sending one or two daily to him for the past few days and he had read none of them. He didn't need to hear her explanations for picking up her usual on and off relationship with ever-suave Lucius Malfoy or her apologizes for leading him on and rationalizations for why she had done so. He certainly didn't want to hear her begging him to remain candid of their brief and mild affair or mock him for being so gullible as to fall for her wiles. Severus simply wanted to send the entire lot back to Aurora and hopefully that would give her the message to start scouting locations for her impending nuptials and stop harassing him.

"Why were you going to do that?" Winifred cocked her head to the side, "Is it because of that article in _The Prophet _? Sirius just mentioned something about it to me earlier."

Severus gaped at the gall of his cousin, his face contorted in repressed rage. How dare she pry into his personal life completely uninvited then question him over it? Not only that but she was dragging in the very last person he wanted to be involved in the situation at hand.

"Always meddling and lurking, always sticking you nose and wand in where it didn't belong, always underfoot ever since my earliest memories, it's as though you've devoted your existence to annoying my own" Severus growled each word, "at times I think my mother took you in only to manipulate and sabotage my life when it wasn't convenient for her to do so personally."

Winifred grew suddenly still, her eyes fixed upon him. It briefly occurred to Severus that he had possibly said the cruelest thing he could have to his cousin just then but his anger helped to subside such concerns. Still locked in her position, Severus noticed a distinct amount of motion coming from Winifred's form quivering and the tears welling in her eyes. She rose to her feet mechanically before she turned her watery eyes on him.

"You know what Severus, I'd consider dropping a hint to Sirius Black about your little liaisons with his favorite sister but I won't do that to you," said Winifred in a voice liberated of all emotion and inflection.

"Let me guess, because you'd never betray me like that?" asked Severus sarcastically since that's all Winifred had been doing as of late.

Placing Lily Evans in danger with her childishness. Leaving him to clean up her messes when he wasn't being dragged into her games. Freely socializing with Black, of all people, in spite of her knowing well how much he despised the prat. Winifred had been nothing but a thorn in his side and now she had the audacity to be pained when he finally decided to pull her free from him?

Severus studied Winifred, waiting for her response with more cajoling or possibly sobbing if she assumed it would soften him.

He hadn't expected her to start smiling.

"No, Severus, this has nothing to do with my reluctance to at against you," said Winifred ominously, "the only reason I won't be seeking my retribution for your _malicious_ words through Sirius Black is because I'm very much content to let you do it yourself. I think we will all be able to appreciate the irony of you declining my _meddling_, despising my _nosiness_, and resenting my being _underfoot_."

"And what, pray-tell is this grand plot of revenge you have in mind?" Severus demanded condescendingly.

Winifred turned on her heel as she walked towards the door to the dungeon corridor.

"Just a little thing your mother taught me in between her instructions on how best to ruin your life," Winifred chuckled mockingly as she threw Severus a smile like a knife.

"Why go for the kill when you can go for the pain?"

Severus watched Winifred slam the door on her way out still wondering what she had meant. Dismissing it as Winifred's usual banter meant to disorient her target, Severus couldn't ignore a hot feeling in his gut.

Perhaps it was guilt for being so harsh with Winifred since she was, more often than not, the only person he could truly depend upon.

Or, perhaps, it was because he was somehow about to be on the receiving end of Winifred's cold-blooded and self-righteous vengeance.

Severus grabbed the letters from Aurora and departed for Owlry.

Several days after the article about Aurora Black and Lucius Malfoy ran in the _Daily Prophet_, Acontiae and Celestine Black strolled into the Ministry of Magic wearing the smuggest grins this side of the junior ministers.Marching purposefully onto the office Malfoy worked out of, the young witches brushed passed the secretary and barged clear in on Lucius's read-through of some documents.

"Well if it isn't our soon to be Brother-in-Law!" Celestine said very chipper.

"Celestine…Acontiae…very much an unannounced pleasure," Lucius greeted as he rose in the young ladies' presence. "Please do make yourselves comfortable. My work can always wait for Aurora's sisters."

"You know, Lucius, this is why I've always been so partial to you over everyone else Aurora has seen. You've always been very nice and proper to us," Acontiae stated frankly.

Lucius smiled upon the youngest Black sister.

"That is very gracious and encouraging of you my dear, Acontiae. . ." started Lucius.

"I wasn't _finished_," Acontiae informed with a prickly tone she usual deposited upon her brother Sirius. The navy eyes that matched Aurora's and their Father's trained on Lucius. "I was going to say you had my full support in courting my sister until this nonsense in the _Daily Prophet_. Now you've left me in a most cross mood because I have to actually admit that Sirius was right on the galleon about something."

The girls had worked out their Good sister/Bad sister angles in advance so there wouldn't be much confusion upon arrival.

"And what would this be?" Lucius taunted the question with a raised eyebrow.

"That you're a manipulative little ferret who's nothing more flattering than a snake in the grass waiting to coil about my sister and slighter into this family," Acontiae informed with a sneer, "I'm only disappointed that it's taken me this long to realize just how often you shed your skin to keep the whole of us fooled."

"That's a bit harsh, Acontiae," Celestine scolded with a frown, "you could just as simple said that we're not inclined to trust Lucius any longer."

"I believe that you are under a greatly false impression, my dear ladies," Lucius drawled , "perhaps Aurora, being the sensitive creature she is, has made this harmlessly exaggerated article out to be something far more insidious that it in reality is."

Acontiae and Celestine openly laughed at this while staring mercilessly at Lucius and shaking their heads.

"Aurora a _sensitive creature_?" Acontiae repeated for the comical value.

"Lucius, she's been the most cool-witted of all my siblings my entire life and you'd try to convince us she's likely to be off and running on some absurd tangent?" Celestine spoke in a chiding tone, "Aurora indicated that you were trying to strong arm her into a marriage with that 'harmlessly exaggerated' article and Acontiae and I have this odd tendency to believe our sister at her word."

"Celestine, would you spell it out for Lucius, you've always had a better head for book work than I," Acontiae deflected to her sister.

"Our parents have indicated that their financial assets will be distributed to their children upon death or retirement as follows," Celestine reported while reading off the parchment, "to the eldest child, or Aurora, all stocks and documents attesting invested ownership of various industries will be transferred into his or her name with full power to do with as they would."

"Or, Aurora will eventually own a part of nearly anything the Malfoy family has put money into or everything they'd love to get their hands on. . . seeing as our money and blood is as old as yours," Acontiae summarized.

"To the second born, or myself, will receive control of all property owned and maintained by the Black family as he or she desires to caretake," Celestine continued on, "specifically this include our ancestral home as well as a few other houses we keep up around Britain."

"Well I'm certain I won't be able to recall all the land my family has claim on but I know for certain the German forests known for the best habitat for owls and Scottish moors I believe the Malfoys are interested in developing upon," Acontiae listed thoughtfully.

"To the third child produced, or Acontiae, ownership and stock of any publicly affiliated organization or charitable association will be given to him or her along with the appropriate financing to maintain these outlined public works," Celestine pressed along.

"That would make me very much entrenched in the public spotlight with sway over Quidditch leagues, _The_ _Daily Prophet_, various charities, and every last socialite organization a Malfoy could ever want to be a part of," Acontiae informed with a broad smile.

"Finally to be divided between all proceeding offspring, which would just be Sirius in this case and probably giving him one of the better deals of all of us, all material items of wealth, artifacts, antiquities, and financial holdings in the vaults of Gringotts and its subsidiary banks will be transferred into their names evenly and justly," Celestine finished the will, "but as I said, in a few years my parents will just give that all to Sirius."

"Meaning Sirius gets the lump sum of our family assets to do with as he wishes," Acontiae clarified a final time, "and I imagine he'll find a great many ways to make all that money annoy you being the creative, obnoxious prat he my brother notoriously is."

"Nothing worse than a young man who can literally purchase comeuppance," Celestine noted in a disdainful tone.

Once he was certain the young women were done establishing their elaborately stressed threat, Lucius merely stared between the girls.

"And I suppose you both are informing me of just how many cards you hold against me?" Lucius drawled, not showing himself to be particularly impressed but thoroughly angered.

"No, because the simple fact is we don't individually hold any cards," Celestine shook her head.

"Quite right," Acontiae chimed in as she began to list off on her fingers for everyone's benefit.

"You see Aurora owns all the businesses so our family can't make any future money without her cooperation while Celestine owns everything so we need her not only for property to invest in or uses for resources but for a place to live altogether. I'm the only one who can keep our family name decent in the public eye and put it to philanthropist use and Sirius has power over any existing money the three of us will need to do just about _anything_."

Celestine nodded to her younger sister as Acontiae wrapped an arm around her sister's.

"The thing is Lucius, us Black siblings know how to share and play nice with one another," Celestine simply summed up, "and we also know how to work together to make sure no one bullies any one of us."

"We just thought you might be interested to know," Acontiae shrugged.

"Well thank you for your time, ladies, as well your illustration of future events," Lucius said stiffly as he held open the door for the Black sisters, "please give your elder sister and younger brother my most heartfelt regards."

"We'll do no such thing," Acontiae replied promptly as she and Celestine stepped through the door.

"Have a good afternoon, Lucius," Celestine wished in a chipper voice as the door slammed behind her and Acontiae.

The Black sisters continued through the Ministry halls suppressing fits of laughter.

"Why do these Slytherin types always think they're the only ones who know how to extort and threaten?" Acontiae chuckled while shaking her blonde head.

"Because they assume us Hufflepuffs are nothing more than good-natured push-overs," Celestine reminded with an amused sigh.

"Bollocks to that," Acontiae dismissed, "we're hard-workers who know how to act as a well-organized team!"

The sisters shared a proud smile between them.

"You know Sirius is going to be cross with us for not letting him get in on sticking it to Malfoy," Celestine pointed out.

"Well, Sirius has been the only one really sticking up for Aurora while you merely frowned about it and I ignored it altogether," Acontiae said in disappointment.

"Still, he would have loved this," Celestine mentioned.

"Of course, but Sirius is still the baby in this family which leaves it to us to make sure things get done properly," Acontiae smiled.

The two girls started to laugh again as they approached the elevators of the Ministry. When the cage doors swung open, the Black sisters moved to the side to allow a pair of witches and wizards to step off first. As the prior occupants of the lift entered the corridor, the wizard stopped and eyed Acontiae directly.

"Acontiae Black?" he asked curiously while stopping. The rest of his company lingered as well.

Acontiae paused as she squinted at the wizard, trying to recognize him.

"David Bones?" Acontiae questioned with equal curiosity.

"Yeah!" David smiled.

Acontiae hadn't seen David since they left Hogwarts nearly two years ago. Last she had heard he was training to become an Auror. Before then, the two had spent their seven years at Hogwarts together. David and Acontiae knew each other well-enough since they were in the same House and Year and were chummy enough. Of course David was a bit more light-hearted than Acontiae and that made it hard for the pair to get along famously.

In some ways, David Bones was still the boy with strawberry blonde hair and a dizzy grin that Acontiae had spent her formative years with and in others Acontiae wasn't the least bit surprised she hadn't recognized him immediately.

"So you're really with Magical Law Enforcement now?" Acontiae smiled at David.

"Well I will be once I finish up my training as an Auror, one more year to go. Let me introduce you to my aunt, Amelia and my mum and dad. All with the department too," David nodded as he gestured to his family before pointing to the Blacks, "this is Celestine and Acontiae Black. Both were in Hufflepuff with me and Acontiae and I shared our Year."

The other members of the Bones family smiled and offered pleasantries to the Black sisters. After this round of exchanges, the elder members of the Bones family glanced to an enchanted clock upon the wall that was informing them they were dangerously close to being late.

"David, we have to go on to the department meeting," Edgar Bones told his son, "we'll probably see you later for supper."

"Alright then dad," David nodded as he waved his family off. Grinning he turned back to Acontiae, "so do you have some time freed up? I don't have to be anywhere until around three so we could spend a few hours catching up."

David glanced quickly to Celestine.

"Oh, that invitation's for you as well, Celestine."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Something pressing has just come to my attention," Celestine said apologetically.

"What's that?" Acontiae asked.

"That you suddenly have a lunch date that I'll be eager to hear about later at home," Celestine grinned a little too much like Sirius as she hoped onto the lift and made her way up toward the lobby. Acontiae gaped at the space that used to occupy her sister.

"Nice to know my family has humor as black as our name," Acontiae snorted as she turned to find David grinning.

"I don't know seemed to work out well for me," David chuckled. He stopped to swallow hard. "So help me out here, Acontiae. Did you suddenly become a right looker or was I always hopelessly thick?"

Acontiae giggled awkwardly.

"My coins are on the hopeless bit," Acontiae decided.

By now, everyone in Gryffindor's 6th Year had heard about McGonagall's charm that bared James's entry of the room. Like Sirius, Cassidy and Gwen had found it comical to some effect while Millicent was good enough to restrain any comments one way or another. During their first Transfigurations class since this development, James spent the entire lesson scowling slightly at Professor McGonagall as he scribed out her lecture notes on Apperating. Lily tried her best not to look entirely amused by her boyfriend's ill mood but not too much success.

Finished with their theory lecture on Apperating and Dissipating, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws all filed out of the classroom looking more than eager to enjoy the rest of their afternoon free of classes and dread eventually having to do their homework. James kissed Lily on the cheek and hurried off ahead of her and the rest of their House. Cassidy raised an eyebrow but shook her head at the usual odd behavior of James as she gathered her things. She was one of the last to leave the classroom.

"Hi Cassidy," Bronwyn smiled as she approached the Gryffindor girl.

"Oh, hey Weaver," greeted Cassidy, "yeh just missed Gwen. She ran off teh the girls' room or something."

"Actually I meant to talk to you," said Bronwyn before quickly adding, "if that's alright."

"Uh, okay," Cassidy shrugged as she followed the shorter Ravenclaw off.

The two girls walked on a bit in silence, passing other students without much of a second glance. Passing into a hall where the traffic tapered off, Bronwyn finally halted near a bronze statue of what appeared to be a Griffin. Brushing her shoulder length chestnut hair out of her face, Bronwyn kept her mint hued eyes anywhere but on Cassidy.

"What's gnawing at yeh, Weaver?" Cassidy prompted, hoping that would encourage her to speak.

Sighing, Bronwyn stole a glance at Cassidy.

"I suppose I just have a guilty conscience lately," Bronwyn confessed as she played with her bronze and blue striped tie.

"About what?" Cassidy said with almost a laugh.

She had a hard time imagining Bronwyn doing or saying anything worth troubling herself over. As far as Cassidy was concerned, Bronwyn ran in the same league as Lily Evans, Millicent Meeks, and other usually polite, considerate, and good-natured girls.

Bronwyn fidgeted a bit more with her tie before she chose to respond.

"After what happened at the match. . . how you almost got so hurt, I've just been warring within myself," Bronwyn mumbled. "It's sort of a hard thing to admit really but I guess I should just come out with it shouldn't I?"

"Probably," Cassidy shrugged, "at least that's always been my thought on this sort of thing."

Bronwyn nodded while chewing her lip.

"You see, I sort of sent you something on Valentines," Bronwyn said quickly before she turned her eyes on Cassidy to survey her reaction.

It could be summed up simply with priceless.

"Those roses, yeh sent them teh me?" asked Cassidy dumbly, "the red and gold ones?"

Bronwyn nodded again, saying nothing. Cassidy leaned against the bronze statue as though she had just been winded. She had long since given up on figuring out who here secret admirer was three months ago and now she was listening to her confess everything.

Her.

"Why?" was all Cassidy could manage.

Bronwyn swallowed, her entire body fidgeted ceaselessly and her eyes kept bouncing to the floor.

"Well, I watched the Quidditch match, the one where you played Hufflepuff, and you were just so impressive that I wanted to do something to let you know that I thought it," Bronwyn stammered along, "the trouble was I'm really a shy person usually and I didn't know how you'd react to a doe-eyed fan since I'd seen how you act with Gwen most of the time so I thought I'd just send something anonymous and if I mixed it in with the Valentine's post then it would be easier for me to slip by unnoticed."

"Oh," Cassidy replied.

So it was just Bronwyn trying to be nice. Cassidy felt as though something inside of her had deflated a little bit.

"See though, there's a bit more to this," Bronwyn rambled on, "I found that I was noticing you a lot more off the pitch then. In our lessons and such. You were so bold and self-assured; I found myself really in awe of your confidence and started admiring you a bit more. I had mostly contented myself to being a casual observer then Sirius Black had his party. . ."

"What happened there?" questioned Cassidy so quietly she practically mouthed the words.

"When I found out that you were staying over I surprised myself when I asked to spend the night as well," Bronwyn said softly, "I thought I was so out of place. More so than Wilkes since some of you seemed to know her even though she was a Slytherin. This will sound odd, I'm aware, but I just wanted to be around. Then after that I started hanging about more with Gwen because she took a liking to me. And since she's your best friend, I associated more with you as well."

Cassidy's mossy tinted eyes burrowed into Bronwyn.

"Bronwyn. . .just what are yeh trying teh say?" Cassidy asked finally.

Bronwyn's cheek rose in a deep blush as her hands were twisting her tie so hard Cassidy thought she'd wring the dye straight out.

"I suppose that I like you. . . and not in the way I originally assumed I had. . .as a friend I mean," Bronwyn's voice cracked out as though her mouth was entirely dry, "and I'd just feel positively horrible if I didn't say that. I don't want any false pretenses between us."

Cassidy felt stunned. It was as though she was reliving something that had happened a year ago during a particularly soggy February. Where she had told James. . .or tried to tell James. . .the same thing Bronwyn was struggling out at the moment. It was odd to be in the other person's shoes. It was almost surreal to not be the one feeling so conflicted and vulnerable by something they were desperately trying not only to understand but make peace with.

Cassidy's heart sank for Bronwyn.

She literally knew how she felt.

"Bronwyn, you need to listen to me about all this. . ." Cassidy urged gently.

Bronwyn drew back sharply with tears threatening her eyes.

"I know that this is all wrong and I'm so very sorry!" Bronwyn broke in with a sob, "I've been trying to deal with it and make it go away on my own but it's always nagging and gnawing like some awful, unwanted thing begging attention! I just can't keep pretending any longer and I owed it to you to try and explain all this! Everything's so off-color and I can't make it right so I thought you should tell you all this before you found out. This way, maybe you won't hate me so much because I'm perfectly willing to walk away if that's what you want."

"Bronwyn, shut yer mouth," Cassidy ordered.

Bronwyn's jaw locked instantly as she stood quivering and wide-eyed before Cassidy. Twin streams were working their way down her cheeks. Cassidy sighed heavily

"What I meant teh say was yeh need teh shut up about there being something wrong with yeh," Cassidy clarified, "yer, just feeling things. . .things that yeh don't see walking around everywhere and they're making yeh confused. It happens teh the best of us. . .specifically me."

Bronwyn's mouth fell slightly open at this.

"So you. . .you think these things too?" Bronwyn said in marvel, "for how long?"

"All my life I suppose," Cassidy shrugged uncertainly, "I guess it was always there and I just took notice of it when yer supposed teh take notice of these kinds of things. It's always a mess when yer sorting it all out 'cause typically it's always on yer own in the end."

"I didn't always think this way," Bronwyn said meekly, "I used to only care about boys before this. . .with you. . .what does that mean?"

"I dunno," Cassidy replied honestly, "I'm not an expert on why I always liked girls the way others only liked boys. And I don't know what to say when people suddenly change their minds about the whole process of it all."

"But I just wonder this mean that I'm. . .I don't know. . .wrong or pretending at something I'm not," Bronwyn questioned urgently.

Cassidy smiled.

"I don't know if this makes things easier or harder on yeh, Bron, but I don't think yer pulling yer own leg," Cassidy assured, "after all, this isn't the usual thing most people find. . .fashionable teh be a part of."

Bronwyn's expression grew even more grave if that was possible.

"I hadn't even thought of what other people would think," Bronwyn admitted in a sick tone.

"It's best teh keep it that way," Cassidy advised still smiling.

"So what do I do about it now?" Bronwyn asked, completely lost.

"Search yer heart a bit more but without beating yerself up. In the end, the two of yeh are stuck with one another so yeh need teh come teh an understanding," Cassidy soothed, "if it's any consolation I'll be willing teh hear yeh out if yeh need teh talk about anything."

Judging by how Bronwyn seemed to sigh with enough relief to cause her body to collapse, Cassidy guessed this did help. Smiling for the first time since she broached this conversation, Bronwyn looked up at Cassidy.

"So what does this make us?" Bronwyn asked hopefully.

"Friends fer now," Cassidy offered, "just because we're the only two girls in the school who like. . .girls, well that doesn't mean we should be quick teh settle on one another."

"But I wouldn't be settling," Bronwyn noted quietly with a blush, "I'd be lucky."

Cassidy laughed awkwardly as she felt her own cheeks grow hot.

"Yeah . . .well . . ." Cassidy sought out any words to work for her.

After a long moment of utter failure, Bronwyn just shrugged.

"Don't worry about it," Bronwyn assured, "I should probably be worrying about crawling before I even attempt to fly, right?"

"Er, right," Cassidy accepted her quick exit from the conversation.

"And I have you to hold my hand though it," Bronwyn said a little more brightly in respects to her situation, "someone who's like me."

Cassidy nodded and began to smile again.

Bronwyn was right. She and Cassidy were kindred spirits in this respect. Everything Bronwyn was presently was what Cassidy had been only a short time ago. Now, a year later, Cassidy still wasn't ready to announce her life to all the world but she didn't feel ashamed about it anymore or agonize of whether or not she would ever be happy like this.

She and Bronwyn were the same.

No.

Bronwyn would have things just a bit easier and Cassidy was glad she could do that for the girl.

"Atropos!" James called after the Ravenclaw girl.

Ophelia Atropos turned around to face James.

Slowing his stride a bit, James suddenly felt worlds awkward about approaching the girl. He knew anything he was about to say would sound rather odd all things considering. After all, how do you properly thank someone for their prêt cognitive abilities preventing a good friend of his from getting hurt?

More so, how do you engage in a follow up when you didn't believe in divining only a week before?

"Look, Atropos, um, I just want to thank you for talking me into trading bracers with Cassidy," James said with his hand in his hair. "I get green over just thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't have listened to you. I guess I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I was so pig headed about the psychic thing before hand."

Atropos put her blue eye on James as he fidgeted a bit with his speech. It was an appraising look, as though she thought there was something more than a casual glance would allow her to see. She turned swinging her blonde hair with her.

"That's not what you really wanted to say to me," she said as though it were an obvious truth.

"What?" James's brow knitted itself. "What was I supposed to say?"

Atropos sighed in a wary way, giving James the impression he was somehow wasting her time. He rolled through the thoughts in his head as though he expected to find some glaring point that agreed with Atropos's assumptions.

"Just ask the question Potter," Atropos said softly. "The one that made you really want to talk to me."

James paused at this. It took a minute but it dawned on him. There was something else that he wanted to ask of Atropos. A thought he tried to push deeply into the back of his mind every time it bothered to surface. He felt a feeling of guilt gnaw out from within. It was shameful that he suddenly felt like he was using Cassidy's near-disastrous accident as a lead in but still. . .

"Did you. . . know what was going to happen to my family?" James's voice was barely audible.

He didn't know if he could bare the answer to the question that had to be asked.

"No," Atropos said simply but sincerely.

"But – " James started.

" – How could I know what was going to happen at a lone Quidditch match but not know something that devastated wizarding Britain and a single boy in particular?" Atropos finished. "Luck of the draw."

"I don't understand," and James truly didn't.

"People get into arguments about whether our fates are our own. If we can seize our destinies or ride helplessly along with them," Atropos explained as best she could. "It's not as cut and dry as all that."

"Then how is it?" James pressed.

"Some things happen in our lives at the end of an entire chain of events. All these specific things had to come together and be intertwined in order for it to follow through to a single, definitive end," Atropos said, "if you remove one single link in this chain then it breaks off before the original end can be formed. I saw a few links in the chain of my housemate and your friend that I could remove and that's why they were spared worst fates than what they ended up with. That's happenstance."

"So why didn't you see any links with my family?" James asked. "Or the families of so many other people? What's different there?"

Ophelia Atropos stared at her feet for a moment. An expression of true sorrow stole her face.

"I suppose it's because there was nothing I could do," Atropos reasoned with herself. "After a lifetime to consider why I see some things over others I've decided that the only rhyme and reason to any of it is I can't see anything that I can't personally correct."

"So you're a very self-involved psychic," James commented before he realized how comical and insulting that sounded all at once. He was about to apologize before he heard the Ravenclaw chuckle.

"I guess I am," Atropos nodded.

"So, you think that anything you can't affect yourself isn't chance?" James questioned.

"Some are but, it's like I said, some things I just can't do a thing about," Atropos sighed. "Of course there are some things that were just meant to happen regardless of how it came about. Someone would have invented the broom or discovered the American continent. These things were certainties. . . inevitabilities. And in the end, James Potter, I don't think your situation is one of hapless happenstance. It had significance that had to be realized."

"So my family was meant to die then?" the words fell off James's tongue bitterly. Not so much at Ophelia Atropos but the sheer idea that some one. . .anyone thought this was absolutely necessary to carry out their grand plot.

"No," Atropos shook her head, "all I can say with certainty is that I wasn't meant to change it and there's always the possibility that no one else was meant to either. I don't know if that gives you peace, Potter, but it shouldn't give you guilt."

An odd, numb feeling enveloped James's entire being. It was then he truly appreciated that he had no idea what he had wanted Atropos's reply to be and if this one was the more merciful of any she could have given.

At least he didn't feel guilt.

Lily split her attention between her notes and a book she had open. She was waiting for James to meet up with her and was curious to know what he and Ophelia Atropos discussed. Chiding herself slightly, Lily considered that it was none of her business what James and the Ravenclaw girl spoke of; however, it was hard to not become a bit jealous when her boyfriend won't stop obsessing over talking with a curvy blonde girl she knew nothing about.

"So, what's a luscious beauty like yourself doing alone in the Library?" A deep and husky voice inquired over Lily's shoulder, "I very much suspect you're just waiting for the proper company."

The suggestive quality of the voice forced Lily's posture to become quite rigid as she tore her eyes from her book.

"I am, in fact, waiting for James Potter who also happens to be – " Lily began coolly as she turned around to find James smirking broadly behind her.

" – A tremendous prat," Lily finished with a roll of her eyes, "honestly James, when you drop your voice like that you sound like some randy Casanova!"

James chuckled while clearing his throat as she sat on the opposite end of the table with his collection of tomes.

"It's fun to do now and again though," James said in his usual pitch, "does anyone even hit on you anymore?"

"No," Lily said dismissively, "pretty much everyone knows I'm going with you and there aren't that many boys in this school who are interested in me and willing to openly defy the grand James Potter."

James settled back into his chair with a smug expression that showed how astonishingly pleased he was to hear that bit of insight. Lily just shook her head and threw her boyfriend a quirky smile.

"Oh don't let it go to your head all that much or I swear I'll let some of the hot air out with the tip of my quill," Lily teased.

"Sorry, just appreciating how wonderful it is to be me some days," James sighed, still grinning stupidly, "nothing like the love of a good woman with sharp objects."

Lily and James both cracked into laughter, causing Madam Pince to shoot them a severe look of warning. Muffling their noised into their hands, Lily was just glad that James was in good spirits. Although it had been a few weeks since James's breakdown over the death of his family, Lily still found herself worrying about him from time to time. Moments like this did wonders to ease her mind on the subject.

"How did it go with Atropos?" Lily asked.

"Um, kind of uneventful really," James said dismissively, "I don't know what I thought I'd hear from her but that certainly wasn't it."

"What did you hope she'd say, James?"

"I guess," James mused quietly, "I guess I just wanted to know how bad I should feel about things sometimes."

"James," Lily looked at her boyfriend cautiously, "were you asking. . .about your family? Because people say she's psychic?"

James stared at Lily as though he didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned that she knew him so well.

"Well I wasn't seeing is she could talk with them or whatnot," James assured with a sigh, "but I just wanted to know if there was something that. . .that could have been changed is all."

Lily frowned deeply, feeling a fluttering give birth in her abdomen. She was now deeply worried as to just what this Atropos girl had said to her boyfriend and what effect it played on his already wounded conscience.

"Did she tell you something that helped?" Lily pressed.

"Not like I had expected but yeah. . .I think I feel a little bit better after hearing from her," James nodded.

"Oh. That's good," Lily muttered.

A sick and brooding sensation rose in Lily. She had wanted nothing for weeks but for James to feel better and now that he did she hated it. It was petty, she recognized, but Lily was bitter that all her words and gestures gave way to some stray pearl of insight a strange girl offered James a moment ago. Deciding little good would come from dwelling on the matter, Lily took it upon herself to change the subject.

"So what are all the books for? Our project?" Lily questioned with a wave to the stack on diagonal to James before she began to scan the titles.

_Withstanding Wards_, _Lock, Shock, and Barricade: Charms for Protection Purposes_, _Magical Loopholes: How to Find and Make Them Work for You!_, and _Enchanted Barriers and Other Places You Simply Don't Belong_ were but a few names Lily saw James thumbing over.

"James, we have our finals in a month's time and you're devoting your invaluable study time to breaking into my room?" Lily questioned in a tone that didn't know whether to be flattered or scandalized.

"It's ridiculous, insulting, and an invasion of our privacy! I think you of all people should know that I'm not going to take it lying down Lily!" James huffed before thoughtfully adding, "especially now that I'm locked out."

"So this is as much about you wanting to snog as it is showing up McGonagall?" Lily's eyebrow raised.

James shrugged.

"I'm just used to having my way," James said unimpressively, "curse of being an only child I reckon."

"Lovely," Lily rolled her eyes, "hope we never have a serious row otherwise you'll stop at nothing to make yourself right."

"Oh that won't be a problem, my dear seeing as how I'm always in the right," James's hazel eyes glanced up from his book as he smirked.

"Oh really?" Lily challenged with a chuckle, "what about that time in our 1st Year when you talked Peter into jumping out of the tower window in Gryffindor on a dare?"

James choked on some laughter before leaning in closer to Lily across the table.

"Oh that was horrible lie," James confessed merrily, "you see Peter, Sirius, and myself hadn't learned about Remus's secret yet but knew he headed out to the Whomping Willow. When we were trailing him under my invisibility cloak, Peter thought he saw something and strayed away. He took a branch a foot thick to the jar and knocked himself out cold then the tree took to thrashing him some more. Sirius and I had to drag him off before he was beaten into bloody pulp."

James continued to laugh over the horrible memory as Lily could only stare.

"Don't tell me you tossed him out of a tower _after_ all that!" Lily hissed.

"No!" James laughed harder.

"That was our cover story. Sirius and I thought the three of us would get into less trouble over boys acting like stupid boys than confessing to sneaking out after curfew, stalking one of our peers we were warned to leave alone, and nearly getting killed by a tree we were forbidden to venture near. So we made up a story about how we were goofing around in the dormitories, left Peter unconscious at the base of it, and doubled back. Once we were in the rooms we hurried to the window and started screaming bloody murder about Peter falling out. Beauty of it was when he woke up in the hospital wing four days later he was so muddled he thought the line Sirius and I made up had actually happened! We never bothered with telling him the truth now that I think about it. . ."

"The pair of you are horrible!" Lily struggled to keep her voice down, "instead of getting your friend proper medical attention you save your own skins! I can't believe I'm in love with such a shameful boy."

"Hey now!" James said defensievely, "to be fair, Sirius and I were really the only ones who were really mates back then. Remus kept to himself whenever we tried to get chummy with him and Peter was more of a tagalong than anything else. I meant it to be just me and Sirius following Remus out but Peter _begged_ to follow us along that night. We just let him come along because, well, we could understand how hard it could be to spend seven years at a place where you're not really friends with anyone in your dorm."

"Oh yes, wonderful generosity James," Lily shook her head.

"I was _eleven_ !" James groaned, "I don't recall you being perfect at eleven."

Lily sneered unappreciatively.

"I wasn't getting the girls in my year killed either," Lily pointed out.

James shut his book with a sharp snap, receiving another warning look from Madam Pince. He ignored it as his attention was fixed on Lily.

"Well tell you what, I'll just run off to the Ministry and borrow a time-turner to clear all this up," James offered sarcastically, "what do you want me to do about it Lily? Tell Peter what really happened? Confess it all to McGonagall? It was five years ago. You're going to be cross with me over a dumb thing I did before I had to worry about shaving, my voice changing, or impressing girls?"

"No," Lily resigned herself with a sigh, "I'm sorry, you're right. I guess I just didn't know how wild and just plain awful you and Sirius could be."

"Yeah you did," James smiled, "remember before finals 4th Year when we cast that silencing charm on you so you couldn't call for Cassidy or Arabella to help you when we tickled you mercilessly in the commons?"

"I had forgotten all about that specific offense, you git!" Lily snorted a laugh. "It got mixed in will all the other cheeky things the two of you did to me all the time."

"It was because we both liked you, I think. Blokes can be really thick about showing a girl they fancy them when they're young," James decided as an amused but guilty grin flashed on his face. "But that tickling story is another one where there's a bit of a secret too it to."

"Such as?" Lily prompted.

"Such as. . .I – somewhat intentionally – groped you over," James admitted with a sheepish look.

Lily smiled at James with a wolf grin.

"James. . .that wasn't a secret. I _let_ you get away with it."

James blinked several times before he forced his hand through his corse hair.

"Really?" James gaped.

"Well us girls can be just as funny when it comes to letting a bloke know we're interested when we're young as well," Lily teased.

"Aren't we the pair?" James observed happily.

"Sure are," Lily nodded.

James moved in to kiss Lily before a shadow crossed over the table. Both Lily and James shifted an eye to note Madam Pince standing over them.

"Out," she ordered simply with a gesture to the door.

Lily and James could only nod and blush as they gathered their things and quickly departed the library snickering to themselves.

Much as he had expected, Sirius found Winifred in the school conservatory. She wasn't playing any instruments, rather she merely appeared to be hiding out. Although his intention was to seek her out to discuss her impression of his impromptu kiss a few days before, her blue demeanor override his curiosity with compassion.

"What's wrong here?" he questioned as he approached the Slytherin girl.

Winifred glanced over her shoulder. She appeared to be playing with something. Craning over her shoulder, Sirius's eyebrow hooked up.

"Is that a _voodoo doll _?" Sirius demanded wide eyed.

"Possibly," Winifred said with a bit of a pout. "I've just taken to calling it 'bad poppet'."

Tossing the rag doll with a few pins lodged in it off to the side, Winifred faced Sirius and took his breath when she placed her glossy lips against his. Allowing a brief instant to recover, Sirius sank into the embrace quickly and without much prompting.

After a long moment, he pulled away.

"So I guess I don't have to ask what you thought of the kiss before. . ." he said softly.

"No probably not," Winifred drawled in reply.

"Does this make us. . .you know, couple-people?" Sirius asked.

Winifred sighed as she peered into his eyes. There was something a little vacant about her at the moment. Like she was beyond tiredness and desperation. It was as though Sirius could see something hollow within if he peered hard enough.

"Must you over think all this?" she mused in boredom. "What does it matter about titles and all that public display? We might be in school, Sirius but do we have to act like children? Why muddle perfectly good chemistry with a whole lot of thought?"

"I believe I will over think this, if it's all the same," Sirius replied. "Winifred. . .I'm not looking for a snog and a toss. I'm looking for, well, you. That has to mean something to you or I can't let it mean anything to me."

Winifred stared at him a bit more, as though contemplating this.

"It matters to you whether you get to call me your girlfriend or not?" she pressed.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded.

"Fine, you can call me your girlfriend then," Winifred relented. "Still, I'd rather ease everyone into the idea so I'll thank you not to hang banners along the halls."

Sirius brought his hand to her smooth cheek and smiled at her.

"Hey, I know this isn't going to be simple and storybook, Win," he told her, "still if you want to keep it mum for a bit, I can do that. I just want you to know that I don't care about Snape, I don't care about Slytherin, I care about _you_."

Winifred smiled at Sirius's words before she leaned in for another kiss. Drawing back she produced a long pin and held it out to Sirius.

"As a reward for your sweet words, I'll let you put a pin in bad poppet," Winifred offered with a wicked grin.

Sirius chuckled and picked up bad poppet in one hand while accepting the pin in the other. He studied the poppet with a queer look. He thumbed at its lank black hair and eyed the protruding nose.

"Grotesque little bugger isn't he?" Sirius noted. "Kind of reminds me of something. . ."

"Just stick the poppet, Sirius."

In the remaining hours before lights out was to be called, the Gryffindor common room was filled with its members as they studied, socialized, or otherwise lazed about. Lily and James were off reading a stack of books James had procured from the library earlier on while the rest of the 6th Years were at a table putting the finishing touches on their work for tomorrow's lessons.

This was where Sirius plopped himself down when he strutted in.

"Well don't you just look like a cat with a freshly caught mouse," Arabella noted with a grin. "What have you been up to you naughty boy?"

Sirius gave the blonde his classic _I'm-ever-so-innocent-I'm-just-holding-these-fire-crackers-for-someone-else-honest_ looks.

"Which wing of the castle did yeh destroy?" Cassidy questioned without looking up.

"None, I'm just happy," Sirius stated. "Can't a bloke just be happy?"

"Of course they can, Sirius," Millicent nodded as she applied some more ink to her quill.

The girls and Peter seemed content to leave it at Millicent's word but Remus was eyeing Sirius with a most suspicious gaze.

"Sirius, a word?" Remus requested as he pulled his friend off to the side.

"All right, Remus?" Sirius asked curiously as they stood off in a vacant corner of the commons. Remus's amber tinted eyes studied Sirius up and down as he crossed his arm.

"Okay, fess up, why do you wreak of Wilkes?" Remus demanded under his breath.

Sirius drew back dramatically and wide-eyed.

"I don't know what you're implying," Sirius gaped. "I just got back from talking with her is all."

"Oh you did more than chat," Remus said matter-of-factly. "I barely know where your scent begins and her's ends! You didn't – "

"We didn't!" Sirius hissed, giving up any attempt for a charade. "We snogged, all right, you ruddy blood hound! You keep pulling stunts like this, Moony and Padfoot'll start sniffing you out to see how much of who's scent is where on youy body."

Remus's eyes bulged slightly at this threat before he shook himself back into his usual placid demeanor.

"Look, I'm not pointing it out to be a prat," Remus defended himself, "I just don't want this to be like Copia where you're keeping it all completely hushed. I mean it's just not healthy or respectful to anyone involved."

"I'm not ashamed of Winifred it's just. . .I guess I don't know if she wasn't us to be announcing to all of Hogwarts and the Heavens above just yet," Sirius sighed while shaking his head. "I'll be catching a bit of flack from our House over this but it will all be in sport. Winifred has to deal with Slytherin, Snape, and their reaction to prancing about with the charming and infamous Sirius Black."

"You really are a legend in your own mind aren't you?" Remus noted dryly.

"And a few others," Sirius grinned with a wink.

From the other end of the room, Lily and James continued their investigation of lifting McGonagall's charm. They had been careful to cast glamour on all the books they were reading to ensure that the covers of their texts would in no way reflect the actual contents. After all, the last thing the couple wanted was for the Head of their House to just stumble upon their means of thwarting her.

Reaching their third hour of research, James looked up from his faux copy of _Animal Cruelty Free Substitutions for Potion Ingredients_ as he glanced to his girlfriend.

"Say there Lily," James teased the words as he twirled his wand between his fingers. "You remember that conversation we had in the library about the stuff I used to do to you when we were younger?"

Lily flipped the page of her enchanted titled book _Fascinating Fairy Families_.

"Oh you mean the silencing charm and tick – " Lily stopped dead in her sentence as she saw the manic smile spreading over his face as he stopped twirling his wand. Placing her book down, Lily stared at her boyfriend sternly.

"No, James," Lily frowned.

"_Yes_, Lily," James insisted grinning wider.

Drawing her own wand, Lily had it pointed at James while he fixed his on her. Lily slowly rose from the couch, not daring a blink, with James following her motions in suit.

"I'm serious!" Lily tried to sound mad but broke her pitch at the end with a laugh.

"So am I!" James chuckled, "we are two _very serious_ people right here!"

Forcing her to walk backwards, James kept stalking after Lily. Both members of the couple looked to be a word away from hexing one another in the name of amusement. By this point, the dozens of other eyes in the common room that had previously been chatting or studying were now watching their Prefect and Quidditch Captain touring the room with their wands out. They might have been more concerned by the sight if Lily and James didn't look so equally amused by it all.

"What's James plotting?" Arabella called to Lily as this caught the attention of the other Gryffindor 6th Years as well.

"He's going to curse me silent than tickle me so I can't scream!" Lily called back without taking her eyes off James.

Everyone in the room, especially James, were laughing hard and loud over the thought of this. Once her giggling subsided, Arabella pulled out her own wand and moved toward the pair.

"I'll lend a wand Lily!" Arabella announced.

She had managed a few steps from the table when Remus grabbed her from behind and attempted to hold her in place.

"HEY!" Arabella cried out.

Lily dared a scandalized look out of the corner of her eye.

"Remus! How can you take James's side?" Lily demanded.

"He's my mate and fearless leader of six years. Sorry Lily, but that's where my loyalties lie," Remus grinned and grunted a half-hearted apology as he struggled with Arabella. "Have at her, James."

"Good man, Remus," James praised his friend, "Sirius. . .Peter. . .where do you stand in all this?"

"Where do you reckon they do?" Sirius said with a scoff as though James was foolish even to ask. He smiled like a wolf at Lily, "apologies love."

"Looks like it's shaping up to be a right fun game of 6th Year Witches verses Wizards," Peter observed.

Gwen and Cassidy had fairly defiant looking expressions on their faces at the challenge of this while Millicent shifted her gaze around the room. Obviously discord didn't sit all that well with the girl even if it was meant in jest. Sirius leaned across the table looking straight at Cassidy since the Quidditch team beater and renowned tomboy was the one of the 6th Year girls to worry the most about.

"Think you can get past me, Cass?" Sirius challenged.

"Blindfolded and unconscious, Black," Cassidy said confidently.

With more dexterity than anyone could have anticipated Cassidy jumped onto the oak table and ran down the length with the obvious intent of leaping clean over Peter and Sirius and tackle James. Gasps and cheers erupted into the room at the spectacle from all the other Gryffindor's witnessing it. Cassidy was about to push off and into the air when Sirius sprang up at the last second and caught her around the waist. Trying to balance himself so he and Cassidy didn't tumble to the floor with her momentum, Sirius kept the girl slung over his should: her thrashing and him laughing.

Both Lily and James took their eyes off one another long enough to watch this and burst out laughing.

The hooting and yelling only increased with intensity as Gwen attempted to slide underneath the table past Peter but without the grace of Cassidy's previous move. Peter attempted to pull her out to get a more manageable grasp but found himself facing a fury of kicks and harsh language as he attempted it. Instead, he was pretty much running circles around the wooden table to try and block Gwen from getting out and at James.

Millicent, on the other hand, was completely at odd of what to do and took to persuading Sirius into putting Cassidy down while Cassidy herself kept encouraging her to hex Sirius.

Back at their stand off, Lily and James were laughing so hard at the comical chaos around them that there were tears in their eyes and no way they could utter an incantation without it being broken to bits in their mouths.

The amusement in the room suddenly died with a loud cracking noise. All eyes turned to see Professor McGonagall firing her wand into the air like a noisemaker to get everyone's attention.

"What may I ask is going on here?" Professor McGonagall demanded sharply at the sight of the disarray.

Too stunned to think better of it, Lily and James had their wands still half pointed upon one another. Both Sirius and Remus had enough sense to release the girls they had seized hold of now that the Head of their house was there and agitated. Gwen crawled out from under the table and pushed herself into a standing position next to Peter. Lily went beat red along with most of the other 6th Years since they were the ones putting on the show while the rest of Gryffindor got suddenly quiet and sheepish since they had been laughing and cheering them on.

"Well. . .er. . .professor. . .ma'am. . ." Bill Weasley fumbled the words, ". . .I reckon it was a match of witches against wizards."

Professor McGonagall eyed the red-haired boy over her spectacles before turning to the 6th Years.

"So is _that_ what you all are up to?"

James, Lily, and the rest in their year all began to nod or mutter agreements to this description. A ghost of a smile played at the Deputy-Headmistress's lips.

"And who was winning?" she inquired.

"Well, I do believe the Wizards were," Millicent volunteered helpfully. The other girls in her year threw her a traitorous look that Millicent blushed deeply against. "Well it's just my opinion that Remus, Peter, and Sirius were doing a respectable job of keeping Arabella, Gwen, and Cassidy at bay."

"That's only because boys are physically stronger than girls!" Arabella spat in a huff, "if Remus hadn't been a sneak and grab me from behind I would have hexed him over good!"

Arabella couldn't see Remus roll his eyes from her present vantage point as the rest of Gryffindor erupted into snickers. McGonagall shot a stern look around that enforced silence once more.

"I'm glad you find this all so very amusing," McGonagall's voice was chiding, "to see your Prefect and Quidditch captain behaving in such a juvenile way along with their friends who are more than old enough to know better about playing with wands as though they were toys."

The 6th years all took to hanging their collective heads as Professor McGonagall looked upon the lead instigators, Lily and James, specifically.

"Now, Mr. Potter, if you would be so kind as to pay sharp attention to my irritable tone which should distract you long enough so Miss Evans will have the golden opportunity to relieve you of your wand. . ." McGonagall announced.

"Wait – what?" James's hazel eyes went wide at McGonagall

_"Expelliarmus!"_

James's wand shot out of his hand and landed in a clatter on a nearby table. Lily smiled at James triumphantly while all the witches in the room cheered jubilantly. All the wizards who had witnessed the spectacle groaned and swore under their breaths at James's loss.

"No fair to take sides like that Professor!"

"It's perfectly fair! James started it Lily should get to finish it!"

"James would have finished it if it hadn't been for that! Nothing against Lily but he who dares wins and James is the daring type!"

"Then how come he _lost_, Sirius?"

"Right! Witches are in charge now, boys!"

Professor McGonagall said nothing as she left the room.

The witch's smile said it all.


	38. Words About Witches

Words About Witches

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: jkit10

_When faced with bugs, rodents, and lizards_

_Witches always take flight!_

_But when we're faced with Wizards_

_We give them a bloody fight!_

_So when you war with Gryffindor_

_Know that the women have the might!_

The girls of Gryffindor had been singing that chant non-stop for three solid days and they only got louder whenever they encountered some male members of their House. At first it had been a bit funny, but now nearly all the boys of Gryffindor were glowering to one another as they watched their female counterparts cackle on about them in the halls, during meals, and in the common room.

James Potter, in particular, felt his patience growing thin.

"Is it wrong I'm heavily giving thought to plotting bloody vengeance against the girl I love?" James muttered to his mates Remus, Peter, and Sirius as they watched Lily wave to them while leading a chorus of the Gryffindor girls fighting song for a mix of witches as they headed off somewhere.

James offered a scowl before a grin in the direction of his girlfriend then waved her off. He was a tad annoyed but not cross with Lily. After all this was the usual sport he and his chaps usually ran with so it would be hypocritical to chide Lily on this account. Settling against the wall in the corridor he and the other boys had been occupying James shrugged with a helpless glance, as though awaiting suggestions.

"Arabella was humming it last night when we were kissing. Bit hard to keep in the mood when she's emasculating me to a catchy tune," Remus nodded a bit along with James's words but seemed a bit more amused by the antics than James was.

"It's your own fault were in this spot, mate," Sirius decided with a glance towards James. "I mean, you could have just hexed her and everything would be in its naturally state of being."

James offered Sirius a cock-eyed expression from behind his frames.

"Oh so because I didn't lay a curse on my girlfriend I'm a git? Sirius you're going to give some lucky girl an unyielding headache once you settle down," James muttered.

Remus shifted his tawny eyes onto Sirius after James's words. He knew who the "lucky girl" in question was but was keeping it under his pointed hat for the time being.

"Who wrote the sodding thing anyway? Lily?" Peter grumbled, his usually watery eyes slightly bloodshot.

"Dunno, sounds more like Arabella's handiwork," James mused over the lyrics.

"Don't pass this off on my head, Potter," Remus insisted with a snorted laugh. "I believe we've already decided this was your fault for not being able to finish what you started with Lily."

James shot an unappreciative look between Remus and Sirius. If he had known he was going to catch so much hell over it with his friends later on, James might have just took his chances with jinxing the love of his life.

An audible clearing of Peter's throat turned James's head, along with Sirius and Remus.

"Well I say a prank is in order," Peter announced to his friends. "Nothing to bad but just enough to get the girls off the song. It's driving me bloody mad."

"Yeah, Wormtail was singing the tune in his sleep last night, I think we need to do something Prongs," Remus added as he turned to James. This sort of thing was traditionally James's call since he was the one that all the other three boys seemed to look to when they were plotting anything.

"Damn straight, I'm as for the witches movement as much as the next wizard but what's the point of being in Gryffindor if all our damsels are distressing _us_?" Sirius contributed with a nod.

"We could probably manage something," James said low in his breath as a stray chorus of the girls' song echoed from another hall.

As though sensing James's mood and desiring nothing more than to further complicate it, Regius Avery in the company of Serpan Nott strolled over to the Gryffindors with Winifred Wilkes tagging along idly.

"Hmm, always thought the skirts in Gryffindor packed the most punch in your lot," Nott taunted as they passed along, most likely because he expected Wilkes and Avery to back him up.

"Dunno about that, mate," Avery interjected coolly, "I remember Evans proved to be a bit of a push over in that potions fray."

James's hazel eyes shot wide and he motioned to advance on either of the Slytherin boys. Remus put an arm out to halt James while glaring at Avery with Peter and Sirius.

"Stow it, Avery, before I beat you so hard you family line dies out," Sirius warned in a matter-of-fact tone.

Avery sneered at Sirius, as though sizing him up but said nothing in reply. Wilkes openly snickered at Avery, her black eyes shining. This might have seemed more suspicious for a Slytherin to laugh at a Gryffindor's remark however it was no secret that Wilkes and Avery didn't have the most civil of social relations.

"I don't know why you're cackling Winifred," Avery snapped at the female member of his year. "You're only hanging about with me and Nott because no one else in our year will have you these days. Not even your oddball cousin."

Peter smirked at Wilkes along with Nott and Avery, evidently enjoying the fact that a full-out creep like Snape considered himself too good of company for Wilkes. James caught Peter's expression and put the heel of his foot into the top of Peter's to wipe the grin off his face before Sirius did him the favor. The last thing he wanted was an all-out row with his mates because Wormtail didn't care to make it any secret that he didn't like Sirius's taste in women.

Remus stole a glance at Sirius, aware of his pseudo relationship with Wilkes. For his part, Sirius's eyes surveyed the faces to see how much truth their was to Avery's comment and wondered if any of it had to do with him. Sirius had no love of Slytherins and thought Winifred deserved far better people to call friends, but then again he wasn't the one who had to live with them at the end of the day.

"Avery, I think it's in everyone's better interest not to worry about what politics are in play for one another's houses so take your mates and scamper off before we find ourselves in detention," James tried to move things along.

Nott snorted at James's comment.

"Don't boss us around Potter like you're the Head boy or something," he insisted.

James's eyes fell on Nott harshly for daring to address him.

"You know Nott, I'm still waiting on that duel you owe me," James reminded with a low growl.

That persuaded Nott to not only fall silent but to shift his position so he was standing behind Wilkes and Avery. Wilkes rolled her eyes and made a disgruntled noise.

"Come on, let's head off," she instructed Avery and Nott. "If the pair of you are going to take to bullying than I suggest you become a whole lot better at it so as not to make arses out of yourself."

Avery spun on his heel and let his entire demeanor flare self-righteously. He pointed his finger menacingly into Wilkes's face as though it were as dangerous as a wand.

"You know, Winifred, I'm getting bloody fed-up with you riding everyone all high and mighty and I have more than half a mind to - "

Sirius cut Avery off there with a hard shove into the fair-headed Slytherin's chest. The force caused Avery to stager back a bit until Nott had the mind to steady him back upright. Wilkes's eyes, which had been narrowed on Avery only a moment before, were wide open and fixed on Sirius.

"WHAT, may I ask, does a half-wit like you have half a mind to do to her, Avery?" Sirius demanded through clenched teeth.

Wilkes moved between Sirius and Avery with her hands on her hips.

"Black, the only interest I have in Gryffindor chivalry is in the lyrics of that song your girls are using to mock it," Wilkes informed coolly. She glared at Nott and Avery while making sharp snapping noises from her fingers, beaconing them to follow in step. "Let's head back to the commons before _I have half a mind _to do wicked things to you both in your sleep. And I'm not talking about the things Florence has house renown for."

If they cared to contest against Wilkes's will on the subject it didn't show. Sulking off behind her, Avery and Nott left a parting sneer for the Gryffindor boys before vanishing in the direction of the dungeons.

Looking over to his mates, Sirius had a genuinely baffled look to him.

"You reckon that was for show or is Winifred really cross with me?" he asked uncertainly. James, Remus, and Peter glanced to one another for support. Assuming they had any answers for him, their silence proved that they were reluctant to share their thoughts on the matter.

"I don't know what you'd have us say, Padfoot," James shrugged finally. "You're asking us to understand how the mind of a girl _and_ a Slytherin works."

On the Saturday of the last Hogsmeade outing for the year, James awoke his roommates with a series of jostles and hushed words. It was about an hour earlier than the boys would traditionally rise for the event; however there were few complaints since Sirius, Remus, and Peter all were more than curious as to what James wanted to show them.

"Is it something to show up the girls?" Peter yawned drowsily into his fist.

James shook his scruffy head with a devilish grin.

"Nope, I'm just looking to flaunt my own brilliance in the face of McGonagall," James informed with a disposition akin to triumph.

Remus chuckled as he stretched out a bit.

"Finally found a way to dispel McGonagall's barrier charm I take it?" Remus guessed.

James had been spending almost as much time on finding a way to undermine the deputy head-mistress as he spent with his lessons. Remus was also willing to bet that James's wildly impressive ego wouldn't allow him to go any more gently into the night than his raging hormones.

"More like a loophole around it," James replied.

He pointed his wand at some washing towels and transfigured them into large potholders. Crouching by his four-poster bed, James tentatively reached underneath. Cautiously he extracted a self-heating cauldron with a lid placed on top. Peter, Sirius, and Remus exchanged inquisitive looks between themselves and they peered closer over James's shoulder.

"I'll bet I know what it is!" Peter grinned confidently. "You brewed yourself a veritaserum and are going to slip it in on McGonagall's tea and make her tell you the counterspell."

"Don't be thick," Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's not like McGonagall wouldn't figure out pretty quick what was going on. James would have to obliviate her memory after that just to avoid expulsion."

Sirius paused on this and looked to James with an expression that was half-curious, half-impressed.

"Is _that_ your ploy?" Sirius breathed.

James wrinkled his nose as he put the cauldron on a dressing table near his bed.

"Let's call that Plan B," James decided. "In the meantime, Plan A is Hermaphrodite's Draught."

Peter blinked, showing that he wasn't too sure as to what this potion was specifically for. Sirius scratched his head a bit, obviously trying to get some clue from the title while Remus stared at James in disbelief.

"James, you're planning on turning yourself into a girl?" Remus marveled.

Sirius and Peter both perked up on this, now on the same page as Remus. There was a brief silence before a loud eruption of laughter and pointing at James. James nodded his head stiffly with his lips firmly pressed.

He had more or less anticipated this sort of "support".

"Look, it's the only way I can think of that will get me past the threshold of the barrier," James explained his reasoning. "Witches can walk by just fine so I figure all I need it to take a sip of the potion to see how the other half lives, walk through the door, take another sip and reap the benefits of a heartfelt reunion."

"And you have positively no problem with being a girl?" Sirius snorted a laugh.

"Well it's not like I'll be one when I'm fooling about with Lily. It's just a means to an end," James informed dryly. Removing the cover of the cauldron, James dipped a ladle into the batch and poured the contents into a vial.

"So how does it work exactly?" Peter asked with a wary interest.

"One sip changes you over to the opposite sex and another sip restores you," James reported. "The transformation is supposed to feel a bit odd but not so much as a polyjuice potion. You've not changing your entire physical appearance, just whatever's needed to make a lad look like a lass or vice versa."

"So take a swig!" Sirius urged eagerly. He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with anticipation of seeing James's feminine side. Remus and Peter shared a look of interest as well as they eyed James for his reaction.

"You _are_ going to have to see if the brew came out all right. . ." Remus attempted to trail off nonchalantly.

"Yeah and we're all friends here," Peter added.

Blushing slightly at the prospects of being the only girl in the room, James shook his head.

"Out of the question! The last thing I need is to hear Sirius carry on for the rest of my days, making cracks about my masculinity and the like!" James said shooting his best friend a glare.

Gentle teasing from Peter and Remus now and again was one thing but Sirius could be positively merciless and relentless when he carried on with a joke.

"Fine then!" Sirius replied as he walked over and swiped the flask from James. "I'll take it if you do then I won't have a curvy leg to stand on if I decide to poke fun. All right?"

Sirius waited for James's reaction to his proposal. James looked as though he were chewing over the words before he offered a stiff nod.

"Okay, go on then pass the flask to me," James agreed conditionally, suspicious that Sirius may leave him hanging on the issue.

Unconcerned with the terms, Sirius shrugged and offered his friends a mock toast before taking a gulp from the neck of the flask and passed it off to James who repeated the gesture in a less flamboyant way. The four boys watched the forms of James and Sirius for any noticeable adjustments from the potion which were seemingly delayed.

"Why's it not working?" Peter questioned as Sirius and James looked very much as normal.

"Actually I think it's working from the inside out. It feels like stuff is being rearranged in my gut," Sirius said in a voice that was of a higher pitch than he normally spoke in.

All the boys started to laugh at Sirius's uncharacteristically soprano voice, James's distinctly sounding like an airy giggle that caused even more laughter around the room.

The superficial changes began to take affect as James and Sirius's five o'clock shadow receded as well as their height and mass. Their pajamas began to appear far baggier on their frames as distinct curves began to take shape in all the appropriate places. For the crowing effect both Sirius and James found themselves with an extra foot or two of hair extending from their heads.

True to the properties of the potion, James and Sirius looked very much like the witches they would have been if they were born females.

"Well this is certainly a memory burned into my mind's eye," Remus mumbled as he ran his eyes over his formerly male friends.

"Stop giving me that wolf look, Remus," James ordered as she fought to keep her pajama bottoms around her slimmed waist. Swimming in her bed clothes, James attempted to make her way over to a dresser mirror to inspect her potion work. Stealing an awkward glance at the others in the room, James pulled the front of her shirt open and peered down.

"Well I look the part that's for sure," James muttered not knowing whether to be impressed, unsettled, or otherwise aroused by the results.

Sirius had taken to poking and prodding himself with a goofy grin spread wide across her face.

"Bloody hell, I'm positively shagable!" Sirius said decisively with a flip of her long black hair.

Remus choked on a laugh while Peter just gaped at Sirius's occasional glimpse of cleavage on display. James looked over her thinned out features, unmanageable black hair with a pair of spectacles resting upon the bridge of her nose. As true as it was in their male lives, Sirius had a far more physically appealing look to her body while James was a bit lanky and arguably plain.

Also she swore Sirius had a larger bust.

"Well I'm not to sure about me. I kind of think I look like my mum," James addressed absently. "What do you guys think? Would I have made a cute witch?"

Peter tore his eyes off of Sirius to look at James.

"I think there are just some questions you don't ask people James," Peter insisted with a quirkily look. "Things like_ 'what happens when you try and make a snake and a mouse be mates?' _or '_Why does Sirius spend so much time alone in the bathroom?'_."

Sirius's head snapped up with the look as though she was about to lay in a verbal lashing upon Peter until an amused look crossed her softened features.

"Now THAT'S an idea!" Sirius declared as she made a bee-line for the bathroom. "I'm off to see how the other half lives!"

James and Peter made a joined set of strangled noises at what their friend was suggesting. Only Remus had enough barring to cut Sirius off by physically blocking the door with his distinctly taller and broader build now that Sirius was female.

"I _forbid_ you to emotionally scar the lot of us like that," he hissed.

Sirius only smiled wider as she leaned against Remus, resting her head against his chest as she snaked her hands around his waist.

"Oh Remus, has anyone every told you how positively manly you come off as when you get so assertive," Sirius cooed mockingly.

Remus's posture stiffened as though ice water had just ran down his back. He quickly shoved Sirius off of him, thinking little of the physical violence since Sirius wasn't actually a witch as much as she was a randy wizard trapped in one's body. He made his way across the room in rapid stride.

"Well I'm off to throw up everything I've ever eaten before I make love to my girlfriend who is _actually a woman_ for hours," Remus announced stiffly. "Thank you James for this traumatizing experience you saw fit to share with your closest friends."

It was James's turn to block a doorway as she tried to stifle a laugh.

"Oh come on Remus, I doubt Sirius would be having so much fun with this if he knew that he looked exactly like his sister Aurora," James informed with a sly look at his best friend.

Sirius raised an eyebrow to this comparison before deciding to seek out a mirror of his own. Staring into a dresser vanity, Sirius groaned before shuddering.

"Oh Merlin help me I do," Sirius moaned. "Now I have to live with the mental image of my sister coming on to Moony."

It was Remus's turn to laugh out loud.

"Now he won't be running off to fondly himself lewdly," Peter said in a manner that was either relief or disappointment.

"Okay any more of this and I won't be in the mood to be alone with Lily every again," James reported as she went over to the flask and took a sip. Slowly the same shifting sensation internally followed by an external adjustment brought James back to his usual self. He tossed the flask off to Sirius, figuring he would be quick to end the perverse fun as well about now.

"We should probably start getting ready to head out," Peter observed in a low, slightly awkward voice.

Sirius was still banned from Hogsmeade and, while the other three boys had no reason to, James, Remus, and Peter felt a bit guilty about going off to have fun without their fourth familiar.

"You know Sirius, my offer still stands on using my invisibility cloak," James reminded.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure I'll have a grand time talking to no one and having you three pretend I'm not there most of the time," the still female Sirius grumbled.

"How about if you use your animagic?" Peter interjected helpfully. "That way you could be seen and no one would think much of you wandering about."

Sirius shook her head again.

"Then you guys get to treat my like a dog while I'm not allowed into any of the shops and have to put up with 1st Years trying to pet me when they're not tossing sticks about," she sighed.

A disappointed silence followed before Sirius brightened up in a sudden, giddy fashion.

"Hold on!" She screeched, "I'll go like this!"

Three sets of eyes widened around Sirius in reply. Sirius smiled triumphantly to herself in honor of her own brilliance.

"Think about it, I could easily just be some random witch in town hanging about," she insisted adamantly. "Most of the people will assume I'm in a different House or Year than the rest of them at Hogwarts and to anyone who presses it I'll just say that I'm passing through Hogsmeade for the afternoon. I'll take James's invisibility cloak and use one of the hidden passages there so I look like I was there before everyone else at Hogwarts arrives. It's perfect!"

Sirius's friends didn't look as though they agreed about the flawlessness of the plan entirely, but since they couldn't find any inherent holes in Sirius's scheme they resigned themselves to a series of nods and shrugs. Sirius smiled as she pulled out some of her casual clothes.

"Now I just need to transfigure these into something flattering and fitting," she said as she pulled out her wand.

"Yeah I'm sure you'll be the bell of the bloody ball," James muttered under his breath as he made an effort not to let his eyes wander over to Sirius's end of the room as she changed.

Walking the trail that led out to Hogsmeade, the students present chattered between themselves a little more casual and candidly than they tended to at the school. Unburdened by the watchful eyes and prying ears of the school faculty, the Hogwarts students probably felt most like young witches and wizards on these little breaks from their studies and dorms.

Taking advantage of their liberated state, James walked towards Hogsmeade leading the rest of Gryffindor with his arm around Lily. Leaning closely to an patch of red hair that he assumed an ear was buried under, James whispered the plan he shared with Remus, Peter, and Sirius earlier as well as Sirius's plan for joining them later on. Laughing so hard that James could feel her shaking next to him, Lily looked to him with gleaming green eyes.

"Oh I wonder if I'll recognize him," she breathed between giggles.

"I reckon _she'll_ be hard to miss," James replied with a wide smile.

"So. . . do you really think that taking that potion will get you through the door in my room?" Lily asked so as not to be overheard.

"I do," James nodded as he nuzzled closer against her. "And if it doesn't I'm this close to shaking the bloody information I need out of our Deputy Headmistress."

"Oh that's lovely," Lily snickered.

"I can't help myself on this. I'm going mad not being able to be off and alone with you. I don't want to have to sneak around like were doing something shameful or wrong. I love you and I don't want the only times I can prove that to you to be in dark corners and abandoned towers," James whispered to her, his lips grazing her cheek as he spoke. Lily closed her eyes and shivered against the gesture unconsciously.

"James, you have nothing to prove to me," Lily replied through a hard swallow as she moved her face to make their lips meet.

"You know, we could duck out of Hogsmeade early to see if it works out. . ." James propositioned. "Nobody would be around to ask pesky questions."

"Or spy you in a skirt," Lily added thoughtfully.

Several paces behind the young couple and a little further down from Remus, Peter, and Arabella, Millicent Meeks and Bronwyn Weaver exchanged their thoughts on the linguistic patterns required for charm work and thoroughly bored their friends Cassidy Kinkade and Gwen McGinnis into their own conversation.

"Isn't it mad that both of your brothers will be eleven next year," Gwen prattled merrily as she looked to Cassidy, "do you reckon they'll both be sorted into Gryffindor and be friends like us?"

"I reckon we have teh wait and see if both the boyos get accepted teh Hogwarts at all during the summer," Cassidy grunted as she stretched out, "which isn't all that much of a concern fer my wee brother since he's wicked clever but yer such a bloody squib Gwennie I really doubt the school will want teh waste another perfectly good magical education on such a close blood relative teh yeh. Of course, assuming they do care to chance it, I'd like teh think my brother Aed has enough of my sense teh recognize Tommy as the pudd he is."

"TOMMY'S NOT A PUDD!" Gwen screeched as she leapt at Cassidy teeth first and started biting into her arm.

"HE IS AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE HE GETS IT FROM!" Cassidy insisted as she tried to remove Gwen by her long brown hair.

Both the girls wrestled along the pathway, causing other students to step clear of their tussle. This cause the procession of Gryffindors and those accompanying them to linger in step and watch the battle unfold. A few students, along with James, looked expectantly at Lily.

"Aren't you going to step in?" James questioned with a smirk.

"Why bother? They'll just wear themselves out in a minute anyway," Lily shrugged indifferently.

James smiled at his girlfriend with amusement.

"You know, I suspect six months ago you would have been of an entirely different disposition," said James.

Lily had changed a lot over the past year. James wagered that Lily wouldn't be nearly as amused by either Sirius or James's wanton defiance of authority several months before, the stern prefect and slave to the system she was. James would like to credit himself largely with this change in Lily's disposition since it was hard to maintain a strict pretense when you're dating the school prankster.

Of course it was only fair to credit Lily with the occasional glimmers of seriousness that James recognized within himself these days. In recent months practical jokes, quidditch, and other frivolous things that had been so important to James before faded into the background of his relationship with Lily. James had no clue if this was a sign of maturity or if centering one's priorities around another was a tell-tale of insanity but he couldn't help how he felt.

Lily was the most important thing in his life and anything that didn't include her was barely worth doing.

"Well that was before I realized life was too short," Lily noted with a grin as she gestured at their brawling classmates, "and that even though Cassidy has the size advantage, Gwen has a vice-like grip in both her hands and jaw to help balance things out."

Sharing a laugh, James and Lily walked on a little more ahead to leave the girls to their reasonably good-natured scrapping. Cassidy had just worked her friend into a headlock, shoving her glasses askew, with Gwen pinching her roughly underneath the tender flesh of her arms when a voice shouted at them from behind.

"Oy, Kinkade! What are you doing to that girl?" Riley McKinnon, a 6th Year Hufflepuff demanded. His fraternal twin, Bradley and his girlfriend which just happened to be Ophelia Atropos were lingering a few paces behind and eyeing the scene warily.

"That's between me and the runt, McKinnon," was Cassidy's polite way of telling him to sod off.

Riley McKinnon glared and crossed his arms, obviously not accepting this as a reply.

"Unhand her right now!" Riley insisted firmly, "I must say that I never imagined you'd see fit to bully someone so much younger than you, Kinkade! I mean the girl's only, what, a 2nd Year? What could she have possibly done to offend – "

"That's Gwendolyn McGinnis, older brother," Bradley McKinnon signed and looked to Atropos for some assistance.

"She's _our_ age," Atropos added on, "in fact, I think she might actually be a few months _older_ than you and Bradley."

Riley's indignation faded in wake of pure dumbfounded, confusion. He studied Gwen who was still being restrained by Cassidy although neither of the girls were thrashing about any longer. The two seemed to have taken to staring at him beneath sections of their disheveled hair and robes. Smiling, Riley shook his head.

"You're putting me on!" Riley laughed at the pair, gesturing to Gwen as he spoke. "The girl can't be five feet tall! And we just got done watching her bite onto Kinkade! What self-respecting witch of age would _bite_ her opponent?"

Riley began to heartily laugh at the sheer absurdity of such a notion. His twin merely shook his head as Atropos put a supportive hand on his shoulder. Cassidy gaped at the cackling McKinnon, trying to decide whether she should pity the boy for obviously being a bit thick or cross that he had some-what insulted her best friend. In her arms, she felt Gwen shaking with what was most likely rage. Shrugging her shoulders, Cassidy stared at Riley.

"This self-respecting witch, lad. And if you think that's a riot wait until I turn her lose on yeh," Cassidy decided as she released her hold on Gwen.

Riley had barely heard Cassidy over the sound of his own chuckling when he felt the sum of Gwen McGinnis's compact match body check him into the dirt path; shrieking like a banshee and pummeling like a red cap.

Somewhere around the fray a chorus of voices started up in unison with:

_When faced with bugs, rodents, and lizards_

_Witches always take flight!_

_But when we're faced with Wizards_

_We give them a bloody fight!_

_So when you war with Gryffindor_

_Know that the women have the might!_

As par to tradition Honeydukes was so full of Hogwarts students buying sacks of sweets that there was practically a line forming out the door. Winifred Wilkes weaved between the bodies of her peers as she inspected the display of freshly made candies and decided whether she wanted to risk the numbing effect of a cool mint fudge or risk the sparks of a zesty chocolate-dipped orange.

A hand fell on her shoulder, prompting Winifred to turn about. She found herself peering down slightly at a witch with long raven hair and clear blue eyes, sporting something of a manic smile. Winifred wondered if she had bumped into a fellow shopper on accident until she found the face slightly familiar and jogged her memory slightly back.

"Aren't you Dr. Black, Sirius's elder sister?" she asked as she matched the features to her memory of vernal equinox at Severus's family home.

The witches face screwed up as though it had tasted something sour as she began to venomously shake her head.

"Bloody hell, do I look that much like her?" the witch muttered rhetorically before staring at Winifred. "How do you know Aurora anyway?"

"Just who are you?" Winifred was beginning to grow both curious and annoyed by the mystery surrounding this conversation as her black eyes fell fixed on the odd girl who looked very much like a relation to Sirius Black.

The witch took to grinning again as she motioned for Winifred to follow her out of Honeydukes before boldly taking her hand and pulling her along. Winifred might have protested if she wasn't about to suggest the same thing. Stepping out through the door and around into a neighboring alley, Winifred crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

The witch peered over her shoulder just once before she felt confident enough to answer Winifred's question.

"I'm Sirius Black," the witch smiled insistently in a low breath. "And before we jump into a round of the usual 20 questions that come with an odd situation like this I took a gender swapping potion to skip out of my confinement to the castle grounds and so you don't think I'm an imposter I gave you ringing glass blue bells for your birthday and you told me a story about a sparrow that decided being a sparrow was a pretty special thing."

Sirius stood back and appraised Winifred's reaction for any signs of skepticism. Winifred's eyes were slightly wide at this revelation until they filled with amusement as she chuckled into her hand.

"Oh Sirius, I had no clue you were _that_ desperate for a day out," she giggled teasingly.

"Yeah well I thought that I could use a bit of fresh air," Sirius grinned along. "And I reckon that you probably wouldn't mind the company."

"So you intend to just shop around like a witch? That should be entertaining considering the little mannerism that sell femininity probably aren't easily dawned by a rugged fellow like yourself," said Winifred.

Sirius raised an eyebrow as though she had just been challenged.

"Are you suggesting that I can't pass myself off as a girl?" Sirius demanded.

"I'm flat out saying you can't," Winifred corrected.

"Well we'll see," Sirius chuckled. "I'm not trying to win a meddle, luv, I'm just trying to pass myself off at a casual glance for the afternoon."

"I think you could probably manage that," Winifred decided. "So do you want to actually walk about or are you content to spend the day in the alley?"

Sirius nudged Winifred along and started out of the alley.

"No we can go," she assured as she stole a sideways glance at Winifred. "Odd thing you being taller than me now."

"I was just thinking of how much I envy your figure," replied Winifred.

"That reminds me, how do you know my sister?" Sirius questioned as they walked past Honeydukes and a couple of Hufflepuffs checking to see which cards they had received with their chocolate frogs.

"She stopped by my cousin's house during spring holiday to pass some parchments off to Lucius Malfoy," Winifred shrugged unimpressively. "We should consider steering clear of Severus. He might make a similar association with your resemblance to Aurora and that would probably lead to him calling you out. The last thing you want is Severus catching you in violation of your probation."

"Yeah okay," Sirius agreed, not wanting to see Snape's face anyway.

Winifred considered adding on her suspicions of the romantic connection between Aurora Black and Severus that would additionally complicate things, but she didn't see any positive contribution in mentioning that. Although she was a creature who was fond of discord, Winifred had little desire to lure Sirius into a trap. Perhaps she was growing a bit soft by socializing with these Gryffindors and it was the dulling of that edge that Winifred feared would catch up with her soon.

Sirius glanced around. She looked notably relieved to be casually about with her peers but everything about her demeanor had a masculine quality. From the broad way she faced the world to her functional over accentuated stride. Winifred hadn't noticed how expressive and timid most girls carried themselves until she watched a boy do it. She was about to comment on this until she heard a voice call out behind her.

"Hold up a tick, Winifred," Regius Avery called in his usual drawl.

Both Winifred and Sirius turned around with unappreciative responses to who was hailing them. Avery wasn't alone. Florence Copia, Serpen Nott, and Walden Macnair were keeping company with the Slytherin boy. Winifred might have expected to see Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange to be with the others if they probably weren't off taking advantage of the lack of professor supervision.

"What do you want?" Winifred asked briskly. She was barely friends with these people and did not want to chance Sirius's behavior with prolonged exposure to members of her House.

"We need reasons to address you know?" Florence asked with amusement. "Didn't know you were so popular that we had to make appointments."

"Who's your friend?" Serpan cut in with a nod towards Sirius.

Winifred looked to Sirius, waiting for her to think of a reply since she didn't want to start inventing stories to cover for the Gryffindor that she might refute in the same breath. It's not as though either had had the chance to rehearse their replies to inquisitive passer-bys.

"My mum told me not to offer a name casually to wizards," Sirius dryly replied. "Might give them fresh ideas about where they stand with me."

"Listen to the mouth on this one! Just what I'd expect of one of Winifred's mates," Walden chuckled, genuinely entertained. His beady eye locked on Sirius like a fox would a hen.

Or just how Walden eyed witches in general.

Sirius sneered, obviously not flattered by the attentions.

"You got to Hogwarts then with us? A different year?" Regius pressed. It was hard to tell if he was feeling out information from Sirius or hoping to feel her up.

"I graduated last year from Ravenclaw," Sirius replied, before tugging at Winifred. "Let's head off. We can. . .um. . .shop for some robes."

"What's the hurry?" Regius questioned. "We're all getting along smashingly here."

"Thanks but I came out to see Winifred, that's all," Sirius said curtly.

Walden smiled to the other wizards in the group.

"She's a coy little bit, isn't she?" Walden commented, unclear as to whether he approved or disapproved of this trait.

Sirius flipped her hair back so she could give Walden Macnair a proper glare. Although Sirius wasn't particularly tall even as a wizard her diminished height as a witch certainly made her envy her usual stature. Particularly when she was staring down a hulking oaf like Macnair.

"Look, I'm going to say this in slow, short syllables so you'll be clear on my meaning," Sirius spat out in a definitely unladylike manner. "Sod off and play hide-and-go-shag yourselves before I dance on your throats."

Winifred was about to interject the point that as confident an opinion Sirius might hold in himself usually, he'd be hard pressed to take on all three boys as a wizard let alone as a witch. Unaware of this bit of information, Regius, Serpen, and Walden could only stifle laughter and exchange wide-eyed looks at the strange witch's threats of violent retribution.

Sirius, for her part, had an expression that wasn't hesitant and certainly not amused.

"I bloody warned you. . ."

It was impossible to feel entirely alone in the Three Broomsticks on a Hogsmeade weekend. Every table was completely occupied, pushed out chairs made walking a feat of grace, and even sitting alone at a the main bar as Gwen McGinnis presently was still gave the illusion of company.

Typical of her impression of the dynamics of her friendship with Millicent, Cassidy, Lily, and Arabella, Gwen couldn't help but feel all her more interesting friends had ditched her for their boyfriends or deathly dull shopping. Cassidy had an excuse since she and Gwen were still hot over their brawl on the way to Hogsmeade and Bronwyn had gone off with her.

Thus left Gwen to the silent but satisfying company of a butterbeer or at least what she had assumed.

"Oy," Riley McKinnon greeted half-heartedly as he sat next to Gwen at the bar counter.

"Oh, it's _you_," Gwen grumbled.

It was not surprising he had slipped so close to her unnoticed. There were so many people and so many voices it was impossible to keep track of who was where.

"I don't see why you get to be cross," Riley snorted with a grin, "I'm the one who just got my arse handed to me by a wee girl."

Riley had his usual friendly and stocky look set with dark brown hair and indigo eyes although he was still lightly dusted from rolling in the path leading to Hogsmeade with a respectable welt forming on his cheekbone. It would probably help more people to immediately distinguish him from his brother, Bradley for a few days, since both the boys were nearly identical in spite of their fraternal birthing. Aside from a few subtle angles and well placed moles, the only truly outstanding difference in the McKinnon boys was Bradley was two inches taller and a fairer shade of Riley's hair and eyes.

In a casual manner, Riley motioned for a butterbeer down to the barkeep on the other side of the counter. Once it was in hand, Riley placed the frosted bottle to his bruised cheek and sighed at the relief it offered. Gwen stared at her own bottle with an expression of guilt.

"Um. . .look McKinnon, I'm sorry about how I hit you like that. . ." Gwen apologized while chewing on her lip, ". . .and about biting your hand. . .then stepping on it. . .and for kicking that dirt in your face. In hindsight, I don't think it was fair to call you a 'dung muncher' since I really have no proof to support it. And that threat about pantsing you in the halls was mostly just talk – "

Gwen sucked in a deep breath, as though she was preparing to launch into another sting of admissions before Riley started shaking his head and hands, nearly slopping his butterbeer around while he was at it.

"STOP!" Riley laughed, "stop before I forget why I'm talking to you."

"I just feel bad now is all," Gwen mumbled.

"Nah don't worry none about it," Riley waved her apology off, "Brad and I have been in more than one tussle over the years so I'm a bit used to the occasional beating. Incidentally most of those fights were born from my younger brother pointing out just how smashing I look with my foot in my mouth much like I did today."

"Well it really wasn't about you," Gwen insisted, "you see when Cassidy winds me up like that it's really easy to set me off on someone else."

"She like that often with you?" Riley asked.

"Only enough to have a joke in Gryffindor run along the lines of if Cassidy Kinkade isn't being a cow to me she's either doppelganger impersonating her poorly or deathly ill and making final peace," Gwen informed.

"Well, McGinnis, I stand by what I said when I didn't think she should be bullying you like that," Riley noted. "I mean I heard her saying some pretty harsh things to you. I just think you could do for some nicer friends is all."

Gwen's brown eyes fell hard on Riley from behind her thick glasses.

"What are you carrying on about?" Gwen said sharply, setting her bottle down with a clunk. "Cassidy is my _best friend ever_!"

"You wouldn't know by the way she treats you," Riley defended his position before taking a swig.

Shifting her posture on the bar stool, Gwen looked at the McKinnon boy head-on with a defiant upturn of her chin.

"Well pull your foot out of your mouth and your head out of your arse so you'll catch this the first time!" Gwen snapped, "Cassidy is grand! In our first Year, nearly everyone was poking fun at me because I was the smallest in the lot, a muggle-born who was poor at magic, not to mention I had braces and glasses to boot!"

"I was really shy and insecure because Hogwarts and magic in general was just so new to me to me so I just took a lot of their remarks in silence and cried about it later on. One day, some Ravenclaw a few years older than us was giving me cheek on it all when Cassidy gut punched him and left him sobbing like a girl with a skinned knee. She told him I couldn't help it if I was a Muggle born runt of the litter with a goofy look to me. After that I followed her everywhere she went."

"Yes, a truly heartwarming acc – " Riley interjected sarcastically before Gwen's seething look cut him off. After all it wasn't like Gwen to abandon one of her heated monologues once she launched into it.

"I imagine Cassidy hated that I was following her around all the time. She kept kicking at me and telling me not to get used to her saving me every time I landed in a spot. She'd say the most awful things to me to drive me off but I just started saying awful things back to her that sometimes made her really cross! Still, anytime anyone was really harsh to me, Cassidy would just jump in and get them to back down or pummel them for it. The rest of the time she saw to making sure I kept at least passing marks with her in all our classes and the other little daily things I can't seem to work out on my own half the time. I guess it was like Cassidy's way of showing that since she did all this wonderful stuff for me most of the time she was free to bully me now and again but no one else had better dare think they have the right for a moment."

Gwen stared Riley square in the eye.

"That's why Cassidy Kinkade is my best mate in the whole sodding world."

Riley blinked for a few moments before a smile wiggled on his lips.

"You know, I think you sold me on it," he confessed, "honest, it sounds like Kinkade looks out for you above and beyond most friends would bother themselves with. Not only that but she toughened you up a bit. You probably don't even notice but I wager you don't really need Kinkade to stick up for you as much as she used to."

"Really?" Gwen questioned as she studied Riley.

"I've got you insults ringing in my ears and a muddle impression of your foot on my bum, what do you reckon?" Riley smirked.

With that, the pair collapsed into laughter, before Riley wiped a tear from his slightly blackened eye and glanced about.

"So where are your mates now?" he questioned.

"Ditched me like the lot of vile traitors those buggers are," Gwen reported in a half-hearted indignation. "Millie's buying quills and Bronwyn and Cassidy made it clear my company was to be excluded. What about you?"

"Brad and Ophelia are being young lovers, I'd either be a fifth wheel or admirable voyeur if I tagged along so I'm here," Riley explained, not all that put out by the reason behind his presence.

"Well I suppose we could take to sulking together," Gwen offered.

"We could," Riley agreed with a small smile, "or maybe we could have a good time on our own."

Gwen was a little put off by this. She was never the one in the limelight. She wasn't brilliant like Lily, funny like Arabella, talented like Cassidy, or sweet like Millicent. She was the obscure witch, the tag along, and mostly a bit player in the big picture so the thought of having something just for her was a little overwhelming and down right baffling.

"You. . .you sure?" she fumbled with the words.

Riley rolled up his sleeve and displayed a clean set of dental marks inscribed upon the flesh.

"I'll just leave it at you made an impression on me," he reported.

Gwen snorted a laugh.

"That was a bad joke, McKinnon you know."

"I know, McGinnis. How about I treat to the next round to make up for it?

"You won't _believe_ what I just saw back along near Honeydukes," Tristan Travers laughed breathlessly to Mary Tudor and Aaron Lestrange as they picked over a piece of chocolate. Evan Rosier, though usually soft-spoken and attempting to be inconspicuous couldn't help a smile.

"Yes?" Tudor drawled with a raised eyebrow.

"We just saw some witch jab Macnair in the throat before hexing Avery and Nott with a spell that gave them cloven hooves and snots," Travers collapsed into laughter as he gestured between himself and Rosier.

"I would act surprise but I'm not that gifted in theatrics," Lestrange chuckled along with his girlfriend.

"Who was it?" Tudor asked.

"Dunno, some friend of Wilkes," Rosier contributed.

Severus Snape listened in mild interest since this sort of happenstance was in no way atypical of his cousin's usual taste in company. After all if she was willing to carry on with Black who knows what other crass, roughnecks would amuse her?

As though appearing merely to serve as the contrary, Millicent Meeks walked out in her common serene fashion carrying a brown wrapped package of some purchases. Finding himself once again favoring the company of Gryffindors over that of his own house and their cackling groupies, Severus approached the Meeks girl who paused to acknowledge him in her standard polite, if not flustered manner.

"Hello Mister Snape, are you enjoying the day?" she inquired with a small voice.

"I suppose so," he replied indifferently since this day stood out no more than the others traditionally did.

"That's nice," Millicent nodded. The expression on her face showed that she was actively seeking out some more pleasant small talk to engage him with. Meeks was an inoffensive person like that and had one of the rare dispositions that allowed her to be civil if not altogether kind to nearly any one. Severus would have found such a relentless need for harmony to be obnoxious and weak if Millicent Meeks wasn't so admirably convincing of the fact that this was just truly the person she was. Deciding to spare them both conversations about the weather, common school subjects, and mutual acquaintances that he didn't utterly despise, Severus skipped to a subject that had been pressing into the back of his mind for some time now.

"Meeks," Severus voice broke into the air, "I feel compelled to tell you that I'm aware you sent me a letter on Valentine's Day."

Millicent's freckles cheeks flushed into a full, deep red color. She said nothing as a sign of her overwhelming embarrassment at the topic coming up. She was deliberately looking away from Severus know as her hands began to wring themselves anxiously around the twine handle of her package. Severus stopped walking so he could devote his attention to the girl. Millicent stopped as well, although Severus wanted to confess a certain measure of surprise over the awkward girl not merely racing off like the startled rabbit she was intimidating.

"I'm not upset by it," Severus assured the distraught girl, hoping it would bring her fidgeting to an end, "I'm simply. . .curious as to why you did send it to me."

Millicent took a deep breath for the sake of composure before daring to turn her grayish eyes on Severus.

"You mean, you want to know if it was a joke?" Millicent asked weakly.

"I _know_ it wasn't," Severus candidly replied.

When he had first received Millicent's letter, Severus had studied it with his Manifesting Glass which was, to his best understanding, similar to a Muggle's magnifying glass except it discerned deliberate falsehoods in the text it inspected. The letter had turned out to be sincere and ever since he had found out Millicent was the author, Severus would have doubted even more as to whether the girl was capable of an intentionally malicious ruse.

Millicent nervously bit into her lower lip as she kept her eyes on Severus hesitantly. The blush had failed to retreat from her cheeks.

"I – well, that's to say I think – well favorably of you. I know that you might not be necessarily popular with everyone however you've always been very kind to me. I – I suppose greatly respect you as well. You're, well, brilliant and the Prefect of Slytherin which can't be an easy job yet you manage it just fine," Millicent confessed through a stammer as she kept her eyes on Severus as confidently as she could, "I just think you do a wonderful job here at Hogwarts and it's a pity that more people don't appreciate that in you."

Severus felt himself developing a similar uncomfortable demeanor to Millicent as she spoke her affections aloud. This certainly wasn't the norm of his day and he was very novice in his reactions to it.

Especially ones as flattering and sincere as those of Millicent Meeks.

"I see," Severus eased into his response, "I must confess that I wasn't aware that you held me in such personally high esteem."

Millicent nodded along with Severus's words as her gaze dropped once more. Severus almost felt like a bully for placing Millicent in this awkward situation. She was a girl who was very content to be overlooked and untroubled in her day to day life. Pressing something this sensitive to her was almost malicious on his part.

"Just so you are aware, I fully accept that my feelings are most likely unrequited. That's why I just left them as words on paper. I didn't wish to distract you with all this and I'm sorry it has," Millicent informed in her usual soft-spoken manner, "Don't worry, this won't affect anything in our currently established association. I will continue on just as productively as you partner in our Defense Against the Dark Arts assigned as I had before this day."

"Meeks, if I had wanted to only dismiss the topic and your feelings I would never have brought this up," Severus stated in a matter-of-fact voice, "Miss Meeks I find you to be one of the few individuals I can tolerate not only within your House but this entire school. You are a respectable and responsible individual who provides me some assurances that there are at least some people attending this institute that recognize it as a place of learning and will contribute to the world once they have outgrown it. Your company is entirely inoffensive to me and I find your usual self-conduct to be a welcomed alternative to solitude."

Stiffening slightly, Severus kept his eyes on Millicent in such a fixed position it was almost intrusive. Fighting nearly all his usual instincts on interpersonal conduct, Severus forced a chain of words to the surface.

"With all that to be observed and considered, I feel you and I are in many respects complimentary to one another and believe we would potentially benefit in establishing a courtship of one another."

"Oh," the syllable seemed to just fall out of Millicent's mouth as she stared at Severus. Her blush began to deepen once more before she nodded with a shy smile.

"I accept," Millicent said with a small nod, still blushing and smiling.

"Very well," Severus nodded, slightly relaxing, "shall we return to the main street of Hogsmeade then?"

"That would be fine," Millicent said in her usual accommodating way.

Walking side by side, neither Millicent nor Severus bothered to make physical contact with one another such as hand holding or brief kisses. Many families with anciently traced blood frowned upon overt displays of affection in public. He didn't fault people like Lily Evans for such ignorance since she was a Muggle-born and a more opened style of living just seemed to be their way, but there was little excuse for noble blooded wizards like Black or Potter to shamelessly reinforce such behavior. Severus suspected there was a duel motivation to Millicent's reserve. Her bashfulness restricted her from being the aggressor in nearly all matters and, to his understanding; her pureblood parentage would probably have encouraged her to behave more formally than that regardless of her shy disposition.

Severus himself would do nothing so forward since it was not only of little concern to him whether or not he touched Millicent Meeks but it went against everything his mother and father had socialized into him. It was uncertain as to whether Severus had ever seen his parents make contact with one another during his entire upbringing. Of course this might have less to do with social refinement as the possibility his parents maintained their marriage for purposes of mutual benefit rather than any sort of attraction or desire for physical comforts.

Still, virtually all the members of his family line entertained aristocratic values many wizarding families abandoned with the Victorian age. This required him to find an individual who could serve as an accommodating counterpart that was a close reflection to his own position in society and would help to maintain if not improve upon it. Someone whom he could be civil with and keep persistent company without suffering annoyance.

Millicent Meeks was an ideal candidate for all these specifications.

Unlike the affair with Aurora Black.

The simple fact that they were content to sneak around was an insult to their mutually respectable heritages. It also didn't help that she had no respect for him. If Aurora had, she would have been gracious enough not to kiss him and inspire a behavior most unorthodox to how he usually managed his life. In the very least she could have told him she intended to marry Malfoy rather than leave him to learn the news in an article sandwiched between a potions recipe for pixie repellent and discount coupons for cauldrons.

Very well, if Aurora was content to pair herself off with someone closer to her own stature in this world than Severus was fine with following after her _oh-so wise example_ and arrange his own respectable matching. Millicent Meeks was a more than adequate mate to invest in and he certainly didn't have to worry about her orchestrating any elaborate games she intended for him to fail at.

Besides, at least this spared him continual interaction with Sirius Black.

A cabal of third year Gryffindor girls passed Severus and Millicent in the midst of the inescapable song they'd been reciting for half of the week. The Slytherin boy felt his curiosity get the better of him for the moment.

"A question," Severus poised, "who authored that chant the witches of your House have been using so effectively to annoy its male members?"

"Oh. . .um. . .I did," Millicent mumbled with a heavy blush. "Arabella and Cassidy wanted something to tease the boys with . . . but neither of them are particularly good with compositions . . .so I played with a few of the things they were saying . . .and put it to a rhyme. . ."

Millicent's sentence came out as though she were offering some horrible confession. Severus could only respond to the irony of the situation with a smile worming of his lips. After all the nicest girl in Gryffindor as well as his now decided girlfriend being the origin of Potter and his minion's annoyance was something that gave Severus no small measure of satisfaction.

"Well I must confess I am a fan of your work," he replied.

Aurora Black answered a knock on the door of her flat one dreary afternoon to find her father, Empyrean Black, on the other side. She smiled weakly at him doubting he would be oblivious to her worn appearance and depressed demeanor.

"I thought I was coming out to see you tomorrow," Aurora said. She didn't mean it to sound unwelcoming but she didn't look nor feel up to entertaining people.

"Yes, you'll get to meet David Bones," Mr. Black nodded. "Acontiae wants to introduce him to the family. Needless to say your mother is thrilled."

Aurora nodded, still trying to smile. She wanted to be happy for her youngest sister but it was hard to hear about happy couples when you were part of an unhappy one.

"Why not come in for a bit?" Aurora offered, figuring that's why her father had dropped by to begin with. "I was just starting afternoon tea."

Mr. Black shut the door while Aurora approached the tea set and poured him a hot cup, passing it to him on top a saucer. She made her way over to the sofas and chairs crowded around a coffee table.

"You know why I named you Aurora?" Mr. Black spoke as he followed his firstborn into her sitting room.

"Because I was born at daybreak?" Aurora guessed as she took a spot on a sofa with room for her father to join her.

"Good Merlin no, you were born at two in the morning, the darkest hour of the day," Mr. Black chuckled, "no, I wanted to call you Aurora because it felt like my entire existence had been completely reborn. I considered the day you were born to be the first worthwhile day I had lived for up until that point."

Aurora smiled a bit at this.

Why did all the best men in her life have to be blood relatives?

"So where did the inspiration for my siblings' names come from?" Aurora asked with interest since this was the first time she had heard this story in her twenty-five years of life.

"Well," Mr. Black began thoughtfully as he sipped some tea, "Celestine's birth had been very difficult. In all honesty we didn't know that she was going to make it. I named her Celestine because I knew she belonged with the heavens if she couldn't be with us. But, fortunately for us and unfortunately for the heavens, she pulled through just fine. I think she's always been the strongest one of you four, the one that keeps things together and working."

"Celeste is great like that," Aurora nodded at her sister's efforts.

Celestine was always something of a classic middle child, the ever peace-keeper who never seemed to mind that she was rarely the center of everyone's attention.

"Unlike you and Celestine, Acontiae couldn't wait to be born and came out as quick as she could," Mr. Black smiled fondly over the memories, "she was three weeks early and a three hour birth. I knew she would always live life fast, brilliantly, and never in one place for too long, so she's our little shooting star."

"You really knew your youngest girl," Aurora complimented as Acontiae's name fit her life to a T.

"Yes well, my only son will always prove to be something of a surprise with me," Mr. Black continued on, "by the time your mother was carrying Sirius, I was convinced I was going to have another daughter. The trend certainly suggested this. You might not remember since you were only seven at the time but your mum glowed throughout the entire pregnancy. Even though this was the fourth time through the whole thing and you'd think the novelty would have worn off everything about her was positively radiant. So I was going to call my forth girl Sothis, after the brightest star in the sky which is also in the dog star constellation."

Mr. Black took in a deep breath before smiling at Aurora.

"And then, of course, he turned out to be a boy," Mr. Black didn't sound at all disappointed by this, "so we called him Sirius which was just the more masculine term. And, being the only boy I knew that Sirius would stand out in the family a little bit more than you girls for that fact alone and would probably get everyone to pay attention to him since he was and always would be the baby of it all."

"I had always thought that you were just hoping he would be very straight-laced or, well, serious," Aurora confessed.

"Oh no, I wouldn't have you kids be any other way than how you all turned out," her father shook his head, "I love you for being the mature, reliable head of your siblings, Celestine for being the supportive and sensitive backbone, Acontiae for being arms and legs that keep everything going in some direction while pointing out the obvious, and Sirius for being the lively heart of you four that makes sure everything comes full circle with the will to carry on. . .albeit through him usually."

"So why the walk down memory lane?" Aurora asked, not at all disappointed to have taken it.

"Just wanted to make sure you knew that people still love you and are always going to love you and be with you even if some wizard doesn't see fit to at the moment," Empyrean Black stated with a smile.

Aurora said nothing but smiled and nodded. It was an obvious answer but still a nice one to hear. She sat in silence with her father for a moment as they invested their attention into their tea briefly.

"Were you in love with him?" her father eventually inquired gently, if not awkwardly, "did you want something more to come from it all that just dating?"

"I don't know," Aurora confessed, "it was short. We only knew one another briefly and we were barely seeing one another when it all fell apart. We had differences. . .differences that may have come between us eventually, but I'll never know if they would have."

Mr. Black's heart broke a bit for his eldest daughter. He had thought, once upon a time, that there would be a point when his children would no longer be vulnerable to such heartaches or would require advice and comforting words of their parents when they felt utterly lost. Of course, that was just naïve of Empyrean Black. After all, who was ever truly certain about their own life?

"Would you like me to tell you that he's a dunderhead for brushing you off over something so silly or that things will have a way of working themselves out?" Mr. Black asked his daughter sympathetically.

"I don't think either, though I appreciate the though," Aurora requested, "you see I don't think things will have a way of working itself out and I really can't bring myself for faulting him for it."

"Well, I can't do that for you," Mr. Black informed as he kissed his eldest girl on the top of her head, "the thing of it is, Aura, I think you are one of the most amazing and respectable women in the world. I can't really blame Lucius for wanting to be with you but I can fault this other bloke for not giving you the time of day. You might not want to hear it, but he's a fool for not giving you a chance to explain himself and I want something more for you than a fool."

"Thanks for that dad," Aurora smiled warmly as she hugged her father, "but you do know this is where Sirius gets it from."

"What's the point of having a son if he's not looking out for your daughters when you're not around," Mr. Black hugged his child back.

"Carrying on the family name I thought," Aurora grinned.

"I wasn't aware I raised my girls to be so traditional," Mr. Black smiled back.

"Well I don't think many will claim me to be entirely conventional," Aurora decided. "Thanks though dad, you perked me up a bit. This past week has just been. . .trying. . ."

Mr. Black nodded with complete understanding.

"You know what they say, dear, the course to true love never did run smoothly," he noted timeless wisdom. "That just means you have to be on the look out for a few bumps but it where your heading is worth it then you'll find a way over and around eventually."

Aurora smiled at her father and gave him a light hug.

"I know dad, I guess I'm still just trying to find my way in all this," she said softly.

"Aren't we all, Aura," he agreed as he hugged her back.

Madam Puddifoot's tea house aptly fit the nature of the cliental it attracted. It had a cozy quality, was tucked off far from the casual eye, and was obnoxiously sweet when happened upon.

Arabella Figg and Remus Lupin found themselves at a small table with a pot of tea shared between them. Pastels and frills could be spied in every corner along with snuggling and affectionate couples. Although either Remus or Arabella could be easily categorized to be anything but the norm, the two were no less enamored than the other Hogwarts students flanking them.

Still the two used their mouths more for conversation and sipping tea than for what some of the other students were putting theirs to.

"Hard to believe summer holiday is nearly on top of us," Arabella sighed between chews of a lemon cookie.

"We still have to get through finals, pet," Remus reminded.

"Lovely thought that," Arabella nodded sarcastically.

"Perk up, there's a silver-lining," Remus smiled, "the finals will put to rest who we can expect to be Head Boy and Head Girl for next term and I would be very surprised not to see either Lily or James holding one of those spots."

"I heard Tudor has a shot at it. Along with Snape," Arabella wrinkled her nose as a show of distaste that probably wasn't attributed to the lemon cookie. "I think I'd transfer schools if either of them were running things our 7th Year. Who else is in the running?"

"Umm," Remus paused for thought, "I believe Brad McKinnon from Hufflepuff and Gideon Prewett from Ravenclaw are candidates for Head Boy. Both have a good shot since I believe Prewett's brother was Head Boy in our 5th Year and McKinnon's sister, Marlene, beat out Sirius's sister, Aurora, just barely for the Head Girl slot in their Year. As for our own Head Girl, I think that Ophelia Atropos in Ravenclaw and our own Millicent are the forerunners."

Arabella nodded along as she listened to all these accomplished witches and wizards from one of the cleverest minds in her Year. She took a small sip off the rim of her cup.

"It's moments like this that make me truly question why you're with me," Arabella just shook her head.

Remus paused to stare his girlfriend up and down.

"Why wouldn't I be with anyone but you?" Remus demanded since he felt he had a pretty good deal going.

"Because I'm just woefully normal," said Arabella.

"I don't think I'd call you normal, pet," Remus teased before sobering up slightly, "still I love you and can't imagine carrying on without that in my life. And if you're going to contest this because your marks aren't the same as mine or you're not as special or popular or whatever daft thing you've lodged in your brain than I think you should know not a single one of those superficial things made me fall for you."

"Then what is the appeal?" Arabella pressed with a shrug, "if none of the things that matters to everyone else matters to you then why me of all people?"

And Remus thought he had self-deprecating moods.

"Because you mouth along with the words as you read them," Remus offered up earning a peculiar look from Arabella, "and because you chew each bite no less than twelve times but no more than eighteen. Because you insist on making an event out of your cats' have a preference of music and you need to make up rhymes to remember the dates and events in History of Magic. Because your socks always have to match even if the buttons and the holes on your shirt don't."

After finishing this in a long breath, Remus glanced to his girlfriend as though he had made some ground-breaking point. Arabella broke out smiling all over at such random notes on her behavior. She felt utterly flattered that Remus remembered all this and picked up on the rest. . .some of which she was clueless of possessing herself.

"Are these really reasons why you want to date me or case and point that I need an analyst and you need a hobby other that cataloging my idiosyncrasies?" Arabella laughed.

Remus's amber eyes burned on Arabella with a stern look tugging the corners of his mouth into a line.

"No I'm being serious here," Remus insisted, "I love you because you're always insecure about compliments and steadfast against criticisms. Because you loan people quills and never bother to ask for them back. Because you always share your mum's homemade cookies even though they're your most favorite food in the world. Because you cry for the misery of people you never met and offer a helping hand to people you barely know."

Arabella paused. Normally she was really poor about accepting such glowing praise but the sincerity attached to the words made them hard to reject, even for the sake of modesty. Her head dipped to the side as she brought a hand to Remus's cheek.

"You really see me like that? That's who you think you're dating?" she asked.

"That's the person I know I'm dating, Arabella, and no one gets to say otherwise. Not even her," Remus replied with a smile. "Maybe you think my taste is, to say the least, unorthodox, but what use do I have for some girl who conveniently fits into the rules and expectations of life when I have someone willing to define them moment by moment? Every second with you is special, Arabella, that's just what you do."

"I get it now," Arabella nodded with a smile, "I'm a barking loon and you're just as bad off because that's the sort of thing you're keen on."

"That's my girl," Remus encouraged with a smile, "keeping the world on a string with one hand while she's playing with scissors in the other."

"What do I need the world for when I have you?" Arabella patted his cheek affectionately to punctuate each syllable of her sentence, "Or course, one can never have too many scissors."

"They most certainly cannot," Remus played along with a usual grin.

Returning to their tea and cookies, the young couple smiled at one another before investing in their drinks. Remus took a long sip of his tea, not answering Arabella as though something more pressing plucked at his thoughts. Arabella watched him with a fond amusement, curious rather than offended. Although she was chatty by nature, Arabella didn't feel any particular pressure to always produce and prod a conversation along with Remus. He offered a rare and genuine air that expressed he didn't mind long silences. It was an excuse for him to think most likely.

After a bit though, Arabella felt herself growing fidgety and noticed Remus was now stirring his spoon in a cup that was almost entirely empty save for a bit of murky water speckled by leaves.

"Here," she motioned for his cup, "let me read your tea leaves."

Jarred back into the real world, Remus took a moment to process the words before he relinquished the cup without any effort of protest. Looking for any memorable patterns to make themselves known, Arabella searched her memory over for the parlor trick prophesizing she had been studying over the years in divination.

"Hmmm," she purred for the sake of theatrics, "there's a crescent cluster here which means you can expect interesting nights or will have a bad experience with fruit."

"Maybe I should pass on fresh apples with my lunch then," Remus joked in a voice that sounded so dry that Arabella was tempted to pour him a fresh cup of tea.

"This must be dull to you," Arabella wagered, knowing that Remus and the other boys weren't too impressed by the Hogwarts divination curriculum.

Remus opened his mouth, suggesting that he was about to say something to agree with Arabella but changed his mind before any words produced themselves. Instead he began to move his fingers into the tablecloth to make unintelligible patterns.

"No. . .that's. . . that's really not it," Remus said in a way so hesitant you could almost assume he was admitting to something dreadful.

"Did you want to leave still?" Arabella guessed. "It already seems like your mind has gone on ahead without us."

"It has," Remus confessed. "I've been trying to find the proper words for something and, well to be honest; it's not coming to me as easily as words had when I was explaining my affection before."

Remus stopped talking. Arabella didn't interject anything into the discussion, fearful that it would derail whatever her boyfriend intended to say next. Her full attention along with her eyes were latched upon him. After a quick and forced clearing of his throat, Remus met Arabella's eyes gaze with his own.

"You want to head off for some place a bit more. . .reclusive?" Remus placed a tentative offer on the counter along with his tea spoon.

"If it's snogging you're suggesting I reckon we wouldn't get a second glance," Arabella smirked with a nod around to the other lovey-dovey couples who were patrons of the tea shop along with herself and Remus.

"I wasn't. . ." Remus said before he stole a long breath of air, "I wasn't going to suggest snogging."

It was an expectant sort of look that Remus directed towards Arabella after that. She hooked her eyebrow, working out the sentence in her head before she pieced the crux of it together. It was long after this that Arabella's face began to take on the same pink color as the rest of the décor in Madam Puddifoot's as she began to stir her own cup of tea for no good reason at all. Pushing her blue eyes around the room, the uncomfortable feeling ridding over her gave way to a scandalized expression as she gestured a few tables over.

"Remus. . .is that Wilkes over their snogging with one of Sirius's sisters?"

True to their original plan, Lily and James discretely found their way back to the castle ahead of the body of their Year. Surprisingly enough Gryffindor tower seemed to be entirely deserted or at least the common room was for the moment. Lily shifted her green eyes over to James.

"Wonder where all the 1st and 2nd Years got to?" Lily questioned aloud.

"I'd wager they're all probably out by the lake or in one of the courtyards," James assumed. "It's too nice of a day to be stuck in the dormitories."

"Well let's see if your potion works quickly before we jinx ourselves and they all come back," Lily grinned as she headed up the stone stairs.

Stopping at her room she watched James bound past her, taking a couple stairs at a time, and heard him stomping through the boys' dorms. He resurfaced a moment later harboring a flask and a large smile.

"So this will really turn you into a witch?" Lily gestured to the vial.

"Yup," James nodded as he took a sip off it.

Lily watched with curiosity, waiting for some noticeable manifestation on James's part. It wasn't taking as dramatic an affect as Lily would have assumed it would rather she got to watch James gradually look more feminine as his mass diminished to somewhere near her own.

Albeit James seemed a lot scrawnier.

Lily couldn't stifle a chuckle over how odd it was to see a female version of her boyfriend. James allowed her a few laughs as she compared her own form to Lily's.

"I say it's a bloody good thing that you're the girl in this relationship or I'd say you were getting short-changed," James joked.

"I think you look cute," Lily assured. She was tempted to kiss James but didn't trust herself not to laugh.

"Want to see if you'd make a dashing boy?" James motioned to the potion.

"Are you going to stay as a witch?" Lily bargained teasingly.

"Umm, actually I think that would be a bit too surreal for me to keep in any proper mood," James confessed with an awkward laugh to the thought of being the witch in the relationship. Secretly he didn't want some snogging about on a lark to lead to some twisted deviant lifestyle that had him running about as a witch all the time, "Come on, let's see how big my loophole is before we catch someone's eye."

Lily nodded in agreement as she opened her bedroom door and held it open. James took a deep breath in an effort to steel herself against the barrier of the charm if it decided to buck her again upon walking through the threshold. Taking off her spectacles, James handed them to Lily as she toed at the entrance of the room.

James didn't feel any sort of resistance from the room.

Daring a longer stride, James crossed into Lily's room uneventfully. Throwing her hands to her hips with a triumphant expression, James beamed. Lily followed her in, shutting the door behind them so as not to be otherwise disturbed.

Or so as not to disturb others. . .

"Ha! I knew could figure my way around that pesky charm," James crowed merrily.

"Congratulations," Lily smiled with an amused applause, "yours is truly a brilliant, randy mind."

"Well come over here and I'll show you a few things that have been on it," James propositioned, resulting in some giggles from Lily. Tossing her a bewildered look, James peered at her girlfriend without benefit of her glasses.

"I'm sorry it just sounded funny when you said that as a girl," she insisted.

"Yeah well I think I'll be taking that potion now so I won't have my girlfriend cackling at private moments anymore," James grumbled as she uncorked the flask and took another sip.

James had just finished swallowing the potion for its counter effects when the barrier spell decided to kick back in. With a loud crack and a hiss of air, James felt himself propelled back in the direction of Lily's bedroom door. Impacting with it rather roughly, James managed to take the oak door from its hinges and be plastered on top of it from the force. As though this wasn't loud and destructive enough, the momentum carrying James and Lily's bedroom door rode him down the stairs and into the Gryffindor commons in a rather rough toboggan ride.

Chasing after James with her eyes wide and mouth agape, Lily met her dazed boyfriend at the foot of the stairs and crouched to his side with a distraught look.

'"JAMES! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Lily shrieked, hoping James hadn't been too bashed up by the barrier spell. "What was McGonagall thinking? You could have been killed!"

"I reckon she was thinking I wouldn't get past the doorway," James groaned as he sat up on the precariously placed door he was stretched out upon. He was a bit jostled and sore but no worse that the usual game of Quidditch so he suspected the Hospital Wing wouldn't be necessary for the time being.

At the moment, James was far more intent upon nursing the blow to his ego and the grudge he was starting to carry against the Deputy Headmistress.

"What the hell is all this?" Cassidy laughed at the disarray upon entering the common room.

James and Lily jerked their head around at the girl with surprised expressions.

"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison.

"Millie was chatting with Snape, Gwen was hang'n about with some Hufflepuffs, and Bronwyn wanted teh start one of her essays so things were a bit dull," Cassidy explained mildly. "Not nearly as eventful as whatever is go'n on here. What is go'n on here by the way?"

"James thought if he took a gender swapping potion it would let him sneak past McGonagall's charm," Lily said with an exasperated tone.

"As you can see it worked _brilliantly_," James muttered sarcastically as he stood up.

Cassidy began to laugh so hard that she started to grip her sides for support. Seeing her doubled over, James was right tempted to give her a good kick in the bum.

"Yeh know Potter, if yeh had been will'n teh do all this fer me maybe we might have had a chance," teased Cassidy.

In spite of how much both Lily and James desperately wished to continue with their air of gloom and pouts, both cracked into smile and chuckles over Cassidy's comment. Shaking his scruffy hair about, James stood up and waved his wand at Lily's bedroom door to enchant it to levitate itself back up the stairs.

"Come along and help me get this back in it's proper place before everyone else makes their way back," James requested.

Still laughing off their hard luck, the three Gryffindors climbed the stairs after the door.

Not long before supper, the bulk of Gryffindor returned to the common room to drop off their finds from Hogsmeade before sitting down in the Great Hall. Managing to repair the damage to the door, James and Lily were seated cozy on the couch talking with Cassidy.

Millicent and Gwen walked in looking rather upbeat as they stepped through the portrait entranceway. Millicent gave a quick wave and a small blush as she hurried off towards the dorms. Gwen approached the other 6th Years in a bounding fashion.

"Well Cassidy I would like to thank you for being daft hag to me on the way to Hogsmeade because Riley McKinnon just spent the whole afternoon chatting it up with me," Gwen chirped happily.

"It's nice that the McKinnons do charity work," Cassidy remarked through a yawn.

Gwen's face scrunched up as she pulled on Cassidy's ponytail in retaliation. James hugged Lily to him a bit while they waited for their friends to stop assaulting one another.

"So what put the spring in Millie's step?" James asked.

"Dunno," Gwen shrugged through Cassidy's choke-hold. "She's just been really happy. Of course I don't think I've ever seen Millicent anything but happy so they must have had a sharp shade of ink or something at the stationary store."

Lily's brow knitted into itself as she craned her neck a bit out from under James's arm, recalling a bit of conversation from before.

"Cassidy, didn't you say that she was walking about with Severus Snape?" Lily questioned, causing James to go rigid against her.

"Yeah. . ." Cassidy trailed off, obviously not liking where the conversation was heading based on the expression on her face.

"Well I'd be ready to hang myself if I had to talk at length with Snape," Gwen remarked as the point of the conversation shot past her head.

Making his usual grand and loud entrance, Sirius bounded in and leapt onto the seat Lily and James were taking up and wedged himself inconveniently between them. He had changed out of his feminine form and attire, tossing a shoulder bag on the table that probably contained the clothing he had worn at Hogsmeade. James passed a meaningful look around to the girls, indicating that they should abandon their prior discussion.

"So how was your day?" Lily asked politely, hoping to get Sirius off and running about himself so he wouldn't be inquisitive about the other members of the House.

"Wonderous! I got to pummel the tar out of some Slytherins and found out Winifred doesn't mind snogging girls," Sirius smiled wildly.

Gwen's eyes were wide and magnified from behind her glasses while Cassidy seemed to be greatly interested in this revelation.

"Yeh don't say," Cassidy said through a quirky smirk.

"Well if he doesn't half of Madam Puddifoot's afternoon tea drinkers will," Remus interjected from behind the couch as he and Arabella arrived. Their arms were intertwined firmly around one another's lengths, as though they suspected someone might try to suddenly break them apart. Feeling slightly competitive, James made an active effort to snuggle Lily more.

"You two look like you had a nice day out," James noted.

"Yeah, we did alright for ourselves," Arabella nodded. "So should we see about supper, I'm famished!"

Nodding along with this sentiment, the Gryffindors began to gather themselves up off the couch. Gwen motioned towards the stairs.

"Well I'll go grab Millie, if she's not trying to self-obliviate herself from having to talk with Snape," Gwen said causing many people to cringe. Sirius made a face, oblivious of the ones that were being made over his shoulder.

"Poor Millie, stuck with that swooping bat," Sirius grumbled before perking up. "Good thing I have the heart-warming memories of feeling up his cousin!"

At this point Sirius didn't notice when most of his friends left the room either.

"This is the last bunch. Are you sure you have a hold of it?"

"Yeah! But it keeps fighting me. How do girls' carry a bloody thing with these narrow shoulders? We should have had Moony and Wormtail come along so we could carry this load faster."

"No, four would be conspicuous and we need someone to be our alibis."

"Yeah, McGonagall would trust any of our words about as much as neck rub from a vampire."

"Shhhh! Okay just levitate that up there and I'll put the trigger charm up there."

"I love it when we spend time together, Prongs."

"Me too Padfoot."

"Oy! Hurry up they're coming!"

"Ha!"

Although his gender swapping potion had been a flop in respects to quality time with Lily, James figured it was perfect for a prank on the singing witches of their House. With a swig each before the students in their house traditionally woke up for the day, James and Sirius dawned their feminine sides once more too sneak up the faulty flight of stairs that usually left them on their bums. They had been up all night in the woods and by the lake preparing for this practical joke and their last trip into the girls' dorms to set things up was cutting things close.

Underneath the invisibility cloak and back to their proper dorms, a female James and Sirius materialized with beaming expressions before and expectant Remus and Peter.

"Did it go off without a hitch?" Peter pressed eagerly.

"We'll know soon," Sirius promised happily as she made a bee-line for the cauldron to return to her normal manish state. James smiled and followed closely behind.

"I hope our girls have a good sense of humor about all this," Remus sighed but didn't seem entirely put out.

Finishing his drink after Sirius, James just shrugged.

"They have no one to blame but themselves and their clever song," James assured confidently as he went over to his dresser and pulled out his clothing for the day.

A few moments later

Yawning, stretching, and the myriad of other motions that are performed when girls awake on a Monday morning for classes, the witches of Gryffindor were busying themselves with their routines to prepare for the day. Joining the other 6th Year girls in the halls connecting the bedrooms from the dormitory baths Lily rubbed the sleep from her eye as she carried her toiletries at her side along with a clean uniform.

"Hello all," she said in a partial yawn.

Cassidy muttered something groggily while Gwen leaned against her, attempting to doze back off. Millicent, who was a morning person smiled perkily at Lily before returning her greeting. Arabella nodded and started her own yawn since these sorts of things are usually contagious.

"Oh we have a whole week ahead of us don't we?" she asked rhetorically before dawning a glum look. The idea of five straight days of lessons after a casual weekend certainly struck Arabella as more than unreasonable.

Cassidy muttered something else that seemed to agree with Arabella before she putted in the direction the bathroom with her toothbrush in hand. Gwen wobbled without her tall pillar of support but managed to keep her balance before forcing her eyes open in a reluctant flutter. Millicent just continued to smile on and on.

"Well it does seem like a lot but we shouldn't let this sort of thing get us all down," Millicent chirped enthusiastically. "We should think of the beginning of the week as an opportunity for something new and wonderful to happen."

Merrily, she went off to join Cassidy in the bathroom. Gwen attempted to focus her eyes on the happy witch.

"I say leave the mornings to the bloody morning people," commented Gwen in a croak.

"She's been awfully chipper lately," Arabella remarked in a tone that could pass for suspicion or mere observation.

Lily yawned again, feeling herself waking up enough to get herself prepped for breakfast and classes.

"I think we could all use a bit of cheer to get us moving along," Lily decided. "At this rate the boys will be up and out the door before us."

Arabella's sleep worn expression lit up a bit with a broad grin.

"I know what will get out witchy ways in the works," Arabella played with alliteration, "how about a rousing chorus of the Gryffindor Girls' fighting chant?"

Gwen shook here head before scratching it.

"I can barely talk let alone sing," Gwen informed.

"Well you can barely sing so there's not much of an argument to raise," quipped Arabella playfully before glancing to Lily. "Come on, start it up with me and others will jump on. I imagine it'll perk the lot of us right up for the day."

Lily shrugged. She was growing a bit tired of the song but doubted a few more verses would drive her mad yet.

"Alright," agreed Lily as she waited for Arabella's cue to carry on. With a dramatic wave of her hand like an orchestra conductor, Arabella established the tempo before starting up the song with Lily and Gwen's voices right behind. Soon other from about the door jumped in on the lyrics in harsh and moderately enthusiastic tones.

_When faced with bugs, rodents, and lizards_

_Witches always take flight!_

_But when we're faced with Wizards_

_We give them a bloody fight!_

_So when you war with Gryffindor_

_Know that the women have the might!_

With the final verse uttered a strange popping noise sounded off from all around the girls in the corridor. Those who had entered the bath hurried out to see what the noise was with bewildered and inquiring looks. Pieces of parchment fluttered down in the air like falling leaves as girls began to pluck at the clues to read them. Lily snagged one and inspected an all too familiar print.

Grab those brooms girls !

Adoringly,

The Wizards of Gryffindor

Lily was about to say something but whatever the words had intended to be were lost when she noticed insects, rats, and snakes pouring out of every plant, vase, draw, and curtain occupying the hall and made their ways frantically towards and away from the now hysterically screaming female body of Gryffindor.

Sharing low-kept chuckled between them, a very male James and his friends put the finishing touches on tucking in their shirts and adjusting their ties when a chorus of screams sounded off from the girls' end of the dormitories. Most off towards the great hall with the 6th years had alarmed expressions to them until they notice how hard James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were laughing. Daring to be inquisitive, Mundungus Fletcher raised an eyebrow to the boys.

"So what's going on over there?" Fletcher asked.

Deciding Sirius was too busy hyperventilating himself with the other boys to answer, James responded through his wildly grinning teeth.

"Music to my ears, mate," James laughed.


	39. The Opposite of Sex

The Opposite of Sex

By: Oy! Angelina

Beta by: jkit10

It was the last full moon of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter's 6th Year. The night was fair and still which meant Moony's howls would pierce the night and serenity of Hogsmeade wide open. The Shrieking Shack groaned under the weight of the boys, Remus the only one who had yet to alter his shape. It was a precaution they took, having Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail's change over into their animage forms well before Remus set into his own transformation. It helped to narrow the odds that something might happen to leave one of them painfully human as Remus was anything but.

This was an odd time for Remus as he always felt even more a wild, mad man. After all, any outsider would find him talking to a pacing stag, bounding dog, and lazily twitching rat to be a more than off-color choice in company to carry on with. Of course standing about in silence for the long moments seemed just as ridiculous so Remus would talk at his friends and they would to their best to reply with Padfoot's showy tricks, Prongs stomping out one for yes and two for no, and Wormtail twittering something that passed for language.

"You know I almost miss this place every summer holiday," Remus spoke into the dimming room. "It'll sound queer but I feel comfortable here. Rather safe. Probably because I know everyone's safe from me."

Wormtail squeaked something in a meaningful pitch that Remus took for sympathy. He waved it off.

"No, I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just saying my thoughts is all," Remus assured earnestly.

Sirius snorted or sneezed, producing a puff of dull colored dust. Pawing at his nose he shook his pelt a bit and began bounding around Remus madly. Remus didn't find this to be all that different from what Sirius probably would have done, as though he could physically raise his spirits by raising a cloud of dust. Remus waved a thicker patch of the dusty particles away from his face.

"Bloody hell, Padfoot, give it a rest," he insisted, stifling a cough. "Chase your tail somewhere else if you must."

Padfoot backed something smart sounding back at Remus until he went quiet and rigid. His nose pointed into the air and took long whiffs of the spaces between the airborne filth. Moving as though he caught sent of a rabbit, Padfoot clamored up the stairs onto the upper floors where he could be heard stomping over head. Remus sighed as the literal dust began to settle and looked over to Prongs.

"Do you know what that's about?" asked Remus.

Prongs shrugged his antlers.

"Should we be investigating?" Remus followed up.

Prongs gave it only a light thought before he shook his antlers and yawned a bit.

"Well I wager if it had been someone squatting in the shack Padfoot would have made more of a fuss and one of the rest of us would have probably picked up on it as well," Remus wagered calmly as he strolled over to the boarded up slats of the window and peered up towards the sky.

The sun was still finishing setting and the moon was close to the horizon. Remus felt it coming, like a genuine inevitability not unlike sleep, hunger, aging, and one day death.

Deciding to take his clashing and pounding back to the ground level with the rest of them, Remus looked over to Padfoot who was wagging his tail as excited as a dog who had just been tossed a stick. Straightening his canine form slightly, Remus's eyebrows rose as he noticed Sirius casting off his animagus transfiguration.

"Oh. . .wise. . ._Merlin_. . ." Sirius gasped as he reverted to his usual human form, broad grin and all.

"Padfoot, what are you doing?" Remus demanded nervously as he squinted through the slants of the window to see how much sunlight they had left. He guessed about ten-minutes at best by the coppery light seeping through.

James abandoned his own form along with Peter who was never one to be left out.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" James asked his best friend as Sirius was bouncing up and down pointing at Remus excitedly. He looked truly torn between blurting something out or just collapsing into wide-eyed barrels of laughters.

"_You sly wolf you_. . ." Sirius all but giggled the words.

Remus's eyes went wide as he stared at Sirius with a slight blush as he could take a very educated guess as to what it was Sirius had caught sent of upstairs that had riled him, particularly after his innuendo. His mouth hung slightly open before he had the sense to use it to form words.

"Sirius. . ." there was an edge of warning in Remus's tone, ". . .just _shut up_."

Sirius stopped bouncing and grinning briefly. He stared at his friend, obviously put off by his snappish demeanor.

"What? Why?" he asked in sincere innocence, "I'm thrilled for you and her mate enough to do back flips!"

James and Peter threw one another curious stares.

"_Her_?" Peter questioned James as though he might know.

James was about to shrug when he was suddenly catching up with the conversation. His mouth formed a large "O" as he felt himself turning to stare at Remus involuntarily. Remus met eyes with James. They looked as though they were on fire as Remus focused at him. His entire frame was tense and he appeared to be laboring his breath. His mouth kept fighting to form a snarl.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about! It's grand news! You and Arabella . . ." Sirius began before he started grinning like an idiot again, ". . . well, _you know_, I imagine you were there and all. . ."

"Well thank you Sirius," Remus said darkly as he turned back to the boy in question, "any other of my personal secrets you care to poke at until all eyes are on it?"

See this was heading straight for a row, James stepped into the conversation bodily.

"Remus, he meant nothing by it," James attempted to mediate, "honestly we don't think any less of you for it or anything. We're really just happy and you don't need to feel like you have to hide this sort of thing from your friends."

Peter's eyes kept darting from one boy to another in the room so fast that he feared he would soon grow dizzy.

"What's going on?" Peter whined densely, showing the ill effects of infrequent dating.

Ignoring Peter's ignorance, Remus thrust an accusing finver in the direction of Sirius.

"But that's _my decision or hers _! Not _his _!" Remus replied sharply.

Sirius's expression showed that he was starting to appreciate the severity of how much he had offended Remus. His expression began to screw up, showing how hard his mind was working to come up with something to say to smooth things over without reinserting his foot in his mouth.

"Remus, truly, I didn't know that you'd be so touchy about this – " Sirius began.

"So it's _my_ fault now?" Remus growled, cutting him off.

James's eyes went wide behind his spectacles.

"Sirius, this is not the time to be agitating him," warned James, stealing a glance at the window.

"I'm not trying to! I'm trying to apologize!" insisted Sirius desperately, "Remus, I swear, I wasn't about teasing you. It was meant as a congratulation, being the first of us and all! Good on you, mate!"

"What did Remus do first?" Peter carried on, whipping his head about waiting for someone to answer him.

Sirius gave him a short show of applause before, Remus let out a deep throated growl and snatched the front of Sirius's shirt so fast he didn't even have time to stop clapping.

"Get. Out. Now." Remus ordered through his slightly more pronounced teeth.

"What?" Sirius protested.

"The lot of you – OUT!" Remus clarified letting go of Sirius. "I'm liable to kill someone if they stay around me as I am now."

"What did I do?" moaned Peter. "For that matter, what did Sirius do?"

"Are you sure about that, Remus?" James challenged. "You don't really want to be here alone all night, right?"

"What I don't want, James, is to murder one of you because the prat here got me all worked up before my change. Now, shove off," Remus ended the conversation on an irritable note as he stormed into another room of the shack. James pushed his hand through his hair and let off an exasperated sigh while Sirius looked to be attempting to pull out his own black locks. Peter just gapped blankly at everyone.

"BUT I DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BY IT!" Sirius moaned into his hands in frustration.

"I know, mate, you just don't think sometimes. Actually I'm beginning to wonder if you ever do," James patted him on the back supportively. "Let's clear off and back to the castle then."

Entering into the tunnel, the three boys walked on in silence for a bit. Sirius appeared to be a little to busy kicking himself and Peter was pouting like an ignored child, leaving it to James to start things up if they were planning on speaking ever again.

"So you what then? Smelled, um, _them_?" James asked Sirius curiously.

"Pretty much. Her and him all over one of the upstairs rooms. I'd say it was just snogging but I really couldn't tell where one scent picked up and the other left off," Sirius explained, with a tap to his nose, "anyway I was just happy for him though. Him and Arabella are keeping secrets or having rows one minute and getting caught in empty classrooms in the next. I was just glad they were getting closer and not drifting apart. I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret that they shagged."

Peter's jaw dropped into his chest as the conversation was finally spelled out for him.

"Since when did Remus get shagged?" demanded Peter.

James rolled his eyes, Sirius narrowed his as he shot his hand out and gave Peter a hard shove.

"Git," spat Sirius.

Low, unintelligible sounds hummed in the dungeons of Hogwarts castle. The dim torches and dull embers within the fireplace could only reveal writhing forms in even their best efforts. Perhaps a name had been said; whether it belonged to a person, a god, or was even a name at all was uncertain as it had passed the lips in a purr. The silhouetted frames appeared to mutually shudder, bones locking, muscles pulsing, and fingers marring tender flesh.

Aaron forced his mouth over Mary's to keep her from calling out. She was near senseless in her ecstasy and Aaron was only just slightly cognitive of his own.

They were in the Slytherin common room, not the most private of places but then there wouldn't be that extra flavor inherent to the possibility of being caught. Feeling their pulses and breaths settle into a more evened pace, Aaron Lestrange and Mary Tudor held one another intertwined amidst the shadows of their surroundings and the sweat of their friction. After a few indulged moments, they began to reapply the attire they had discarded in favor of coital acts and returned to the other's embrace.

"I love you," Mary said as though she had arrived at a conclusion.

Aaron smelled her hair affectionately.

"You're everything to me. I'd live, die, and kill for you. And once we're of age and out of this school we'll get married," he promised.

"You've been saying that since 4th Year," Mary reminisced, "I had thought it was just you being a romantic about your first shag. That you assumed I needed to hear those things just to keep giving you a toss."

"If I wanted to toss someone I would have done it with Wilkes or Copia or some other witch from some other house. I loved you. From the moment I saw you sorted into Slytherin after me, I loved you and every moment past that just made that all the more deeper and even more unfathomable for me to not have you return such a feeling," whispered Aaron.

"You might have had a shot with Copia," informed Mary smoothly as she traced a finger over his leg, "she confessed to me sometime during 3rd Year she fancied you."

"What did you say?" Aaron asked.

"And incantation for a boil curse," recalled Mary.

Aaron smiled into her hair.

"Hmm. I had just though she had broken out horribly that week," he stated. "Still, I was no better. You're the most beautiful girl of our Year. It was maddening to know that other eyes were on you. I could have blinded them all for watching the sway of your raven hair, gawking over your ivory flesh, or daring to meet your soul-piercing eyes. They all wanted you, none more so than me, and none of them deserved you more so than me."

"Very true, my darling," Mary cooed as she settled comfortably into the arms of her lover. "You belong to me, I belong to you. It's destiny that we rule together. In this House, in this school, in this life, and in Hell after."

"I don't find you to be damned," assured Aaron, "I think of you as my dark angel."

Mary smiled into the dark before she smiled up at Aaron.

"You were always the kinder of the both of us," she said contently.

"Do you want children?" he questioned out of the blue.

"I'm not particularly maternal so probably not," Mary shook her head.

Aaron nodded, playing with her hair lazily like a cat with a sting.

"I wasn't much interested in the idea myself either. I have a brother, let him carry on the family line. I want nothing to come between us, nothing to steal a moment of our time or a flicker of our emotions for one another," Aaron said in utter honesty.

"Not even our own child of flesh and blood? A union of our perfect traits and talents?" Mary pressed mildly.

"I fear I would kill it," confessed Aaron coldly. "If not for the pain it caused you in the act of birthing it, then I would for its demands upon your attentions and love. I can't stand to have competition with you, even my own child."

"I love your devotion to me. It's so poetic and pure," Mary breathed with satisfaction.

"What can I say? You draw it out of me, my wicked muse. I am enthralled by you, I need or desire nothing but you," he murmured.

"If only everyone could be as happy as us," sighed Mary.

Looking to one another, their lips met again in the dark. Tender and enrapturing, Mary and Aaron knew that this was a love that was once to a lifetime as no one had ever so perfectly fit with the other and if they suspected there were, in fact, additional options available the other would probably kill off their competition. It was just in their natures and it was unconditionally accepted as part of the reason they were so hopelessly in love.

Jealousy and possessiveness were rarely applied to the emotion of love but they still denoted it as what could truly inspire such dark demands if not the need to protect something just that precious?

It was several hours past daybreak and Remus was still within the Shrieking Shack. He had found a spot against a peeling wall and invested all his energies into brooding. Halfway through the night he decided that he shouldn't be too cross with Sirius since, in spite of his astoundingly thoughtless nature at times, there was no malice to his intent.

Privately, Remus figured that he should have just told Sirius and the others about where he and Arabella's relationship had reached. Not that he owed them any explanations or a single scrap of information about his personal life, but Remus learned long ago that he could trust Sirius, James, and Peter with bigger secrets than this. They were his truest friends and Remus felt a bit ashamed that he had kept this from them for over a week.

Shuffling feet over the graying wood pulled Remus's eyes up. Arabella stood in the doorway of the room he was in, James's invisibility cloak tucked beneath her arm with the soil of the tunnel pathway clinging to ends of her clothing and hair. She had a rather concerned look to her pretty round face.

"Well there are only two things that can get you this blue, Mister Lupin. One is Sirius Black and the other is when people make their pets wear people clothes," Arabella sighed knowingly as she approached her boyfriend. "And since I don't see any monkeys wearing suspenders I have to ask what the Wankingest Wanker who ever did Wank has done now?"

Remus glanced his amber eyes up to Arabella before returning to the dusty floor. He loathed telling Arabella what was bothering him but knew there was little chance in keeping the secret contained. It would eventually get into circulation somehow and he'd rather Arabella know about it and brace herself for the possible scrutiny rather than be shocked with it some afternoon in a girls' bathroom or by a jeering comment in a hall.

"He figured it out. . ." Remus said softly. "I didn't tell him, but he figured it out and announced it to James and Peter. Which means Lily probably knows because she's seeing James and whoever else Peter saw fit to inform."

Arabella sucked in a bit of breath and blushed. She had a prickly feeling in her neck at the thought of being the subject of more gossip than the odd girl with the cat fixation. Although she had never really considered herself to have much of a reputation one way or another, the last thing Arabella wanted was to be labeled as some kind of floosy or other less generous adjectives.

"Well. . .I suppose it was bound to happen," she sighed herself. "It's just one of those things, you know? Whether or not it's actually true, people will eventually just assume such things if you're seeing someone long enough or carrying on really familiar with them."

Remus groaned and hid his face slightly in the folds of his arm.

"I know. . .I know that's how it is to be a young witch and wizard couple in school, but, I liked it being our secret," he confessed as he stole a glance at her. "I liked it just being known by us. . .it being about us."

Arabella smiled as she walked over to her boyfriend. She settled next to him on the floor and rested her golden, curled head on his shoulder.

"It _is_ about us," she informed him with unshakable certainty. "It doesn't matter if all the people in the world know about us or we just disappear altogether. No one will ever know what it's like to be us and completely absorbed in this feeling. Every love is unique and tailored to the people in it. In a way, it's not fair for us to expect other people to understand."

"Just wish wasn't suddenly public domain," replied Remus.

"Perhaps we should consider celibacy then," Arabella shrugged helpfully.

"Pardon?" he stared blankly at her.

"Well unless you have a time-turned handy to take it all back and if you insist on moaning and groaning about it the only sensible thing to do is stop altogether," smiled Arabella with a playful shove in his direction.

"That would certainly be an effective plot to make me die, yes," agreed Remus, cracking a smile.

Arabella shook her head and clicked her tongue at his response.

"You've become so woefully male on me now that you believe that survival hinges upon how readily you're shagged," chided Arabella.

"It's not so much about survival as it is making life all the more bearable," specified Remus.

And just like that Remus felt worlds and lifetimes better. He unfolded his arms to put one around Arabella as he kissed her forehead.

"You know I love you," he said.

"Well I imagine you can't help yourself," Arabella kissed him back.

"Just barely," he assured.

"…and after he brought my mother into it I had no choice but to jump him," Sirius finished explaining to Winifred from the low ridding ledge they had perched themselves upon.

"Well it sounds reasonable enough when you say it like that. When my housemates told me that you had took to pummeling a snowman I thought you simply had rage issues," replied Winifred thoughtfully.

"Oh I do, however; they are entirely warranted I assure you," nodded Sirius.

Drafts of warm spring air found their way around the columns as Winifred and Sirius were taking a break from the tedium and tribulations attached with impending finals. Complaining that the musty air of the library provoked illiteracy, Sirius persuaded Winifred to take a breather away from books and scrolls. Winifred offered little in the way of resistance as her usual turn in of marks certainly didn't have her campaigning for the spot of Head Girl.

"Anyway, the Yule Ball was a lark. Remus made a move on Arabella while James and Lily stopped beating around the bloody bush with their song and dance," Sirius concluded, "though for the life of me I still don't know why she went on the arm of Snape. Did she lose a sodding bet or something?"

"Must all your stories end with how Severus irritated you and you retaliated in some astonishingly idiotic and/or juvenile way?" questioned Winifred in a bland tone.

"Nah, only the interesting ones," Sirius smirked. He took an inspecting glance to the face of his watch and made a scowl. "Bugger, we've been out here the better part of an hour. We should probably get back to studying."

The Gryffindor boy and his female Slytherin companion climbed to their feet while pulling their school bags to their sides. Reluctantly venturing in the direction of the Library and the relentless hushing of Madam Pince, Winifred and Sirius walked side by side and exchanged the occasional word but gave no other impression that the were together. Casually, Sirius put his pale eyes on Winifred like a puzzle he was stuck on and expected someone to come along with the answer to keep things moving along.

As far as Sirius was concerned (and informed) he and Winifred were dating, courting, or whatever once cared to call it. The point was they were expected to spend time together, snog on occasion, and grow angered if someone else does encroaches upon either of these domains. Of course at a glance no one would know that. Winifred's personality was a cool one, Sirius knew that heading into his pursuit of her, still she seemed to treat him with the same indifference she bestowed upon all others. Part of Sirius wondered if this was her appeal to him, the notion that he might crack through the frosty exterior and get a reaction from the blasé interior. There was something validating about being the first and only person to get Winifred Wilkes to warm up, but Sirius tried to think of better rationalizations for them being a couple.

If this was his only motivation (and bugger him if he knew hers) then Sirius saw this less as a relationship and more of a new game for Slytherins and Gryffindors to play with one another.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something. Possibly it would have been another humorless story to try and get a laugh off Winifred. It might have even been posing the question of whether Winifred was embarrassed to be formally associated with him. Whatever Sirius might have said was lost to a tempest of thoughts when he spied a per usual smug Snape walking toward himself and Winifred.

The gaunt and pale Slytherin's black eyes fell between Sirius and Winifred in a contemptuous manner that he didn't even bother to sugarcoat. Sirius felt his face twist its features to return something of a similar effect. Still Snape didn't look particularly inclined to intercept them and, at worst, would probably just make a snarky comment at Sirius or both he and Winifred's expense.

What Sirius hadn't figured on was Winifred suddenly grabbing hold of his arm, coiling both her hands around it in a cuddling fashion. Sirius turned to Winifred and saw her throw her cousin a deliberate sort of expression. Refraining from commenting just that moment, Sirius took note of how Snape bristled before inventing a whole new category of hateful expressions. As soon as he and Winifred successfully crossed paths with Snape and continued to walk on in opposing directions, Sirius leaned close to Winifred's ear.

"Correct me if I'm mistaken but are you trying to infuriate Snape?" he asked.

Winifred offered him a shrug that suggested an innocence that Sirius was quite confident she did not possess outside the incarnations of deception and mockery.

"Does it bother you if I am?" answered Winifred with a new question.

Sirius furrowed his brow.

"Is this the only reason you're with me?" the inquiries pressed on.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Winifred, "If I was looking to simply annoy my cousin, it would be a far simpler means to an end to just spit in his potion projects rather than run about with a Gryffindor."

She gave his arm an encouraging squeeze.

"Just think of it as us doing more things as a couple," she advised.

Sirius required little else in the way of reassurance with this and soon wore a wolf's grin.

"So we're merely riling Snape because it suits our fancy to?" Sirius sought to confirm.

"More or less," agreed Winifred, despite the hint in her voice that this was something of an underestimation.

Not, at the moment, curious as to what her specific motivations were, Sirius decided to bask in the golden opportunity as it was presented. Stopping dead center in the hall, he turned a bit and bellowed behind him.

"OY! SNAPE!" Sirius called out.

Snape halted his own pace to turn around, along with the other dozen or so students sharing the corridor as well. The moment his black eyes were back on both he and Winifred, Sirius threw his arms around her dramatically with a manic grin.

"Just so you don't have to spend your nights tossing and turning over the nature of all this…" Sirius trailed off before he pulled Winifred into a deep throated kiss.

Sirius heard Winifred's muffled voice (quite possibly words of protest), squeals of disbelief and amusement from onlookers, and most distinctive, the sound of an unfamiliar hex from Snape's general direction.

James was almost relieved when Sirius informed him of his intent to study with Wilkes since he was hoping to talk with Remus seriously and knew that their mutual, tactless friend might agitate things further with his mere presence. Of course Peter probably would not be of much help either. Not that the boy intended any harm, personal, rather he had a habit of being clueless and James feared such an ignorance would only make Remus all the more defensive. James made an effort most of the morning to let Peter know that he wished to be left alone however the other boy was proving to be rather thick. James, ultimately, had the feign napping for about three hours before Peter finally stopped chatting with his unresponsive friend and mutter something about playing wizarding chess with some Ravenclaws before leaving the dormitories.

So as not to appear conspicuous himself, James pulled out his school books and attempted to read up on a few of his subjects when Remus entered into the room. Ducking behind Arithmancy, James offered a quick hello as if nothing was different and pretended to read from the book. If Remus had, in fact, heard him, he offered no indication of it to James as he walked over to his wardrobe and found fresh clothes for the day. After he had reread the same page four times over, James decided it might be alright to speak up however Remus beat him to the chore

"Where are the others?" he questioned.

"Off. I don't reckon they'll be back soon," James assured.

"I see," Remus did not press the issue as he finished with his buttons and walked in the direction of the door. James bit into his lip, fearing his opportunity was about to walk out on him and shut his book rather audibly.

"Remus, I was wondering if we could talk about all this," announced James in a hopeful tone.

Remus paused long enough to bristle. It was evident that this was not a topic he favored.

"Oh I think Sirius carried on just fine for everyone, James," muttered Remus gruffly. "Now if you want some fantastic tales of carnal theatrics, I suggest you hang about the boys' bathroom for a bit because I'm not about to cheapen one of the most meaningful things I've done in my life for your immediate entertainment."

James threw his hands up as though to block the comments or any other physical manifestations of Remus's indignation he saw fit to chuck in his direction. He had expected Remus to be defensive about the subject and James honestly couldn't blame him if their situations had been reversed. Still he didn't want Remus assuming that he was just looking for some randy tale to snicker and make crude remarks to.

"I didn't mean like that!" James insisted with a red ting to his skin. "Honestly! The last thing I want to know is who was where doing whatever! You both. . .that's entirely your business and I respect that."

"Then what do you want to discuss per se since you're the one bringing it up?" snapped Remus.

James fell silent rather abruptly before he shifted his eyes off Remus and onto a non-specific point in the room. He felt the words chocking in his throat as James Potter was a young man used to having all the answers or being able to fake his way through them. But there really were just some things that you simply did not know off hand or could learn from books. It was the sort of life experience that you either had actually embraced or, in the least, have the sense to ask another about it.

"I was just hoping to talk," James replied quietly, as if admitting some pained secret.

Remus's features softened slightly as he released a loud exhale

"Oh," he said flatly.

Always the most somber of the bunch, there was times that James saw Remus as the wet-blanket of the Marauders who was nagging them with morals and logic that James, Peter, and Sirius were fine doing without. Those were the silly moments that all bled together in one big happy memory in the mind of James Potter. The other moments, the ones that defined and in many ways gave shape to the other moments that would follow later on, James saw Remus as an older brother type. A little bit wiser, a little bit more worldly, and pointing out the pitfalls to those who would tread in his footsteps.

James saw his friend in the latter role at this moment.

"Look Moony, I'll understand if you tell me to sod off for this, particularly since it's really not the sort of thing proper chaps should be discussing but. . . well should I _know_ _anything_ about it? Something I might not figure out on my own?" asked James awkwardly, raking his hair so violently with his hand that he worried he might go prematurely bald.

"If I could give you one bit of advice, Prongs, I'd tell you to wait for a moment when you know that anything you and Lily do will be the opposite of sex," said Remus.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I'm following that," James confessed, privately wondering if there was some sort of secret lingo that only people who lost their virginity could speak.

"It's really not all that hard to get," insisted Remus, "anyone can have sex pretty much. Not that hard to find and even less difficult to do, but that doesn't make it meaningful or intimate in the least. When you're with someone you truly love. . . it should seem like it was impossible to get close another person and a marvel that you're finally at this point and every moment before that one just seems like it was filling in time."

James sought for the moral of the story.

"So you're saying I should hold off?" questioned James

"I'm not going to tell you a bloody thing. It's your and Lily's lives so it's your choice," Remus backed away from the question. "All I'll say in respects to the right time and place is wait until whatever you're feeling for one another is the opposite of sex then you'll know you're alright. And if that's a week off, a year off, or sometime after you're both married then you won't have done a single thing wrong."

James nodded along with this, catching Remus's point. Anyone could have sex. It was just a physical act that most people past the age of 13 or so could figure out on their own if they had to. Love complicated this, as it had a habit of doing with most other things. The thing was, complications didn't necessarily make things inherently bad.

It just meant you had to think them through a bit more before you stated it, pay more attention while you were doing it, and get more meaning out of it one you're finally done.

He and Lily had a tendency of being complicated in a great many things and James could honestly say that he wanted this to be yet another one.

"Yeah, I get that I think," said James thoughtfully, "thanks."

"Not at all," Remus nodded respectfully.

A moment of silence passed before James changed the wait from one foot to another and dared to ask:

"So Remus. . .is it better than. . .you know. . . _private performances_?"

Remus's head snapped towards James at the mention of this just before an amuse look crossed his face.

"I'm ruined for all else I fear," Remus replied dryly.

"Good to know the voice in the back of my head screaming things out whenever I'm with Lily at least knows what it's talking about," chuckled James

"It's made some very astute educated guesses," Remus assured with his own laugh. He paused for a moment before adding.

"Just be careful with Lily, James."

"Oh yeah I know. I would be careful to make sure that I'm not carrying on the Potter line anytime soon," James told Remus in all sincerity. "There are potions, charms, talismans, - "

"That's good to think about but that's not what I meant," Remus interjected, "I mean. . . just be considerate of her. It's not exactly the same for witches as it is for wizards. Sometimes it hurts them, okay?"

James had heard something about that somewhere down the lines of adolescents. He was glad Remus mentioned something since he didn't want that sort of thing to be lost to obscurity, gossip, and locker room chat.

'Oh. . .yeah. . .I'll bare that in mind," James responded.

"Good man," Remus nodded.

"You know, I'm sort of glad you did this first," James confided with a slight grin. "I could never talk about this straight with Sirius and Peter can barely mutter incantations without fumbling the words."

"I was kind of figured it would have been you actually," replied Remus with his own grin. "You're our fearless leader, wherever you go we follow."

"Yeah well if any of you wankers follow me into to _that_ if I ever get around to it with Lily I'll forget our years of friendship and hex the lot of you," laughed James.

Aaron Lestrange was always proud to be a Slytherin. Simply being sorted into the house was a sign of breeding and a promise of better things. After all, any house that prevented mudbloods from sullying the ranks did nothing but assure a better quality to the wizards produced from it. Of course that did not mean Aaron Lestrange always enjoyed the company in Slytherin since they were a bunch of backstabbing dolts who droned endlessly on about their old money families and what social or political games they were currently playing. And then there were the Walden Macnairs of the house...

Aaron had spent the better portion of an hour listening to Macnair prattle on about his collection of medieval weaponry and the subtle naming and history of them all. Losing his patience with politely nodding and making monosyllable replies of feigned interest Aaron was desperately considering stunning the other boy and blaming it on a Gryffindor later when he spied Tristan Traver's cross into his line of vision. Excusing himself under the false pretense of discussing a fictitious question he wanted to ask the Hufflepuff, Aaron joined Traver's at his side.

"Where's your better half?" asked Aaron as a hello.

"Evan?" Tristan replied, just realizing Aaron was speaking to him. "Tutoring some younger years I think in the commons. Why you ask? Looking for a world?"

"No, just seems as though you two are always together," shrugged Aaron.

"Same could be said about you and Tudor," said Tristan.

"She's about I imagine. Probably stirring up some trouble I'll have to sort out later," said Aaron though he did not seem particularly put off by the idea.

Tristan nodded in something of a knowing way that Aaron couldn't resist questioning him on.

"Yes, Travers?"

Tristan glanced away in an obvious reluctance. Sighing to himself over something, he looked at Aaron head on.

"Well, it might be nothing really, but I do see her hanging around other wizards in a – ahem – friendly manner," Tristan said before adding quickly. "Sorry, mate."

Surprisingly, Aaron did not look exceptionally phased by this news. Nor angered. Strangely enough the Slytherin boy appeared almost amused that Tristan was the one who was bothered at all.

"Yes, Mary will do that," said Aaron coyly.

Tristan had the look of a young man who was not quite following along with the scene but was making a fair attempt to catch up.

"So, you both have an understanding about this sort of thing then?" asked Tristan cautiously.

"Mary and I have less of an understanding and more of a game. It's not all that uncommon to most couples; we're just willing to acknowledge its existence unlike most. Whenever one of us feels the other could be paying a bit more of an investment in the relationship we reserve the right to seek some outside solace," Aaron explained lightly. "Of course the prickly part of the game is the other reserves the right to dispense with the outside party as they see fit if they find out."

"Not to tell you how to manage your own love life, Lestrange, but that sounds like a wonky sort of waltz," Tristan decided.

"Maybe from an outside perspective but these jealous little teasings help to stir passions. The possessiveness of it all makes you want the person more. You'll do anything to make certain they don't desire or even look to another for affection and, when you keep theirs, you know you're the most important person in their world," Aaron went on. "However that kind of spark is hard to up keep so you find ways. . ."

Tristan nodded along to show he understood this even if he didn't practice it. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, Tristan did a quick check about to make sure no professors or prefects were about to make themselves annoying. He offered one up to Lestrange who respectfully declined. As he worked his lighter against the wind, Lestrange turned the conversation about.

"So tell me, Travers, how _privileged_ are your experiences with the opposite sex?" Aaron drawled, bored with discussing his own personal life.

"Witch here or there," Tristan replied coolly.

"_Which_ witch here or there?" Aaron pressed with a stiff nod in the direction of some of their female peers about.

"I'm afraid I must hold my tongue on that question, Mate," apologized Tristan.

"Out of a gentleman's courtesy?" smirked Aaron.

"Bloody hell no! Out of fear I'd get hexed so viciously there wouldn't be enough of me left for my mum to mourn!" laughed Tristan.

This was the Hufflepuff boy's honest reaction. He didn't believe in protecting good names and proper reputations however he did believe in scrolls full of curses that would make his an uncomfortable existence.

"Hmm, that begs for a curious question," Aaron mused. "So tell me this at least, are you worried the witch in question will perform the hexing or does she have a boyfriend whom you're cagey of?"

"I dare not even respond to that," Tristan smiled.

Aaron's eyes wafted across Tristan before looked off.

"I think you're lying," Aaron decided.

"Think what you want to mate," Tristan shrugged with an indifferent sort of confidence.

Apparently rethinking his statement in light of Tristan's stoic poise, Aaron crossed his arms and pressed his lips thin. It was a similar look he donned when he attempted Arithmancy in his head or was trying to figure which boy in school was responsible for putting that specific teasing smirk on Mary's face.

"All right, which house_ at the least_?"

"I dunno. What if I say it was Slytherin? Would that set you off?" Tristan questioned.

Aaron snorted a chuckle.

"I'd almost be disappointed Travers if you couldn't find a girl from my house," responded Aaron dryly. "Honestly it's not like you need to do a whole song and dance to charm those snakes out of their baskets."

"Wicked harsh on your own girls there mate," Tristan said with an amused smile.

"Naïveté is a luxury that Slytherin ironically can't afford," spoke Aaron as though he were stating the obvious. "So?"

"Yeah, one was a Slytherin," confessed Tristan.

"Our Year?" asked Aaron with renewed interest in the conversation.

"Now _that_ I'll carry to the grave," Tristan shook his head.

"Well if I find out it was Mary it will be a bleeding short trip," Aaron assured.

"It's _not Mary_, you daft possessive git," Tristan rolled his eyes with a long sigh.

Sirius squinted at his reflection in the dull surface of a window overlooking the evening sky from an empty classroom. He rubbed at the word TRAMP which appeared to be etched backwards from his point of view. The words glowed in a hot scarlet light and throbbed scalding pain to his forehead whenever Sirius did or thought anything remotely lewd. As such, his kiss of Winifred in the hall had proven to be a rather excruciating one.

For her part Winifred would not stop snickering.

At least she wasn't cackling still.

"It's not funny," Sirius protested to his reflection, vanity speaking mostly on his behalf, "I've tried every counter-curse I know and it's still stubbornly in place like it's always been there."

"What were you expecting after _that_ Sirius?" Winifred replied as though this was the only result that could have possibly occurred.

"I know it's naïve but something a bit bloody sporting!" Sirius retorted in a snort, "I mean how does he expect me to even have a chance to defend myself when my tongue was to busy doing other things than reciting incantations and my hands _most assuredly_ were not upon my wand!"

The cackle returned to Winifred as she shook her head.

"I think that may have been the idea," Winifred reported dully.

Sirius turned away from the flare off the glass to look at Winifred with a lack of amusement.

"Well you're not the one who has to waltz around with neon libel painted on their skull," stated Sirius as he crossed his arms.

"Doesn't libel imply falsehoods Sirius?" Winifred teased.

"Ha," Sirius laughed without humor.

"Well you did provoke him to a limit that would set most civilized people off," Winifred reminded.

"That was above and beyond!" Sirius maintained his innocence in all this. "If you were his blood sister or ex lover then I could see all the fuss but…"

Trailing off, Sirius went back to prodding the print on his head grumpily. So fixated on his own face, Sirius barely noticed the smile etched into Winifred's as she slinked up behind him and coiled his arms around the length of his middle. Finding himself less concerned with his hexing suddenly, Sirius gave her an entertained smirk through his reflection.

"Hmm?" he questioned.

"I was just thinking that maybe a good form of turn-about might to be to put some merit behind Snape's little insult," Winifred murmured as her hand ran us Sirius's face and stopped to tap his forehead.

Sirius found it as heard to fight the smile from his lips as forcing his pulse into a steady pace. Turning to face her, Sirius still found Winifred's body pressed against his and wasn't at all put off by this discovery. Leaning in for an open mouth kiss, Sirius was disappointed to find it lasting only a few moments before Winifred broke it off.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked. "Did you want to stop?"

"Quite the contrary," Winifred corrected.

Noting their surrounding of an empty classroom with it only begin a few hours to curfew, Sirius was of the opinion that this wouldn't make for an intimate arrangement much longer once people started checking the castle over for wayward students.

"As much as it pains me to be the voice of reason, I think a long snog would be pressing out luck," said Sirius with a wiry smile.

"What about a quick something else?" prompted Winifred.

Staring at Winifred with a hook in his eyebrow, Sirius felt fairly confident that he caught the meaning Winifred intended of this comment but didn't wish to embarrass either of them with a rash assumption. Either way this did not change the timing of things and this certainly wasn't an on-the-spot decision.

"Maybe we should be heading back to our houses," Sirius said finding his smile becoming a bit more forced. "I'm sure Snape would love to bust me in the midst of some transgression. That and I really should try to catch onto Remus's ear before bed so as to make a proper apology for the usual tragedy associated with those who care to associate with me."

"Are these excuses as lame when they leave your lips as they are by the time they reach my ears?" Winifred asked teasingly.

Not giving Sirius the opportunity to answer, Winifred's mouth was over his and performing gestures of undeniable passion. Finding it becoming an increasing chore not to get swept along with the moment, as passion tended to have that intoxicating affect on all things, Sirius felt hands roaming freely over him as his owns were moving. This was all fine and familiar to Sirius until few deft gestures on the part of Winifred that struck Sirius to be a little too experienced and undeniably specific caught his attention with his breath.

Pulling away with a swallow, Sirius heard himself saying words that he might have slapped another wizard for uttering in a similar situation.

"Umm. . .Winifred . . .this isn't exactly what I want," Sirius began uneasily.

"Hmm, that's rather odd," purred Winifred against his ear as her body writhed slightly against his. "because I'm getting a distinctly opposite _impression_ from you at the moment against my upper thigh."

A low groan passed Sirius's lips. It felt as though it had traveled up from his core, trembling all along the way. In an impressive feat of restraint that Sirius himself would have been a skeptic of his possessing, he put his hand on top Winifred's slender shoulders and bodily separated them.

"_Ahem_. . .well, be that as it may . . ." Sirius attempted to keep at least his arm's length away from Winifred so he could speak without being persuaded otherwise, ". . . I think this might be a bit fast. We've only just started seeing one another and I'm feeling a bit rushed by all this."

"I don't know many wizards who get put off by an offer of sex, Sirius. In fact most of the time they have a row about quite the opposite," noted Winifred in an amused voice with a slightly frustrated undertone.

Sirius lingered on these words for a moment before asking a question that was against his better judgment.

"How many other wizards do you know like this?" Sirius asked tentatively.

Winifred rolled her eyes and stepped away from Sirius crossing his arms. Although victorious in getting the girl to back off a bit Sirius found it bittersweet since Winifred was not looking at his as the biggest git in the world.

"That's not what I meant," Sirius said apologetically.

"Oh I think that was probably very honest of you, Black," Winifred replied, causing Sirius to flinch at his surname as if it were an insult. "Your round-about way of seeing how much of a tart I am, hm?"

"No, I wasn't looking to offend, truly," Sirius insisted, "but, this is just a bit sudden. I just want to be sure that things…progress…for the right reasons and not false ones."

"Such as?" Winifred demanded.

"Well, Florence Copia said something that I've been thinking on. She suggested that you might be interested in getting back at your cousin over some slight and I would be a rather easy avenue for that," said Sirius reluctantly.

"So now you're listening to Copia?" Winifred spat out the question. "And it's not as though you should have any right to be outraged even if that were true. You enjoy antagonizing Severus more than all the people combined in this school!"

"There's a far gap between those two things," Sirius said bluntly. "Enraging that prat is a perk of our dating not the entire point of it! And if the latter's true, Winifred, then it's a cruel joke but Snape's not the one it's being played on."

Sirius looked away from Winifred, starting out the window and eyeing the reflection of Snape's hex most specifically. He heard Winifred sigh from behind him somewhere.

"You're overanalyzing all this, Sirius," Winifred said, placing an ease into her tone. "I'm not thinking about Snape – in any regard – I was thinking about us and how much fun we could be having."

"Well I'm thinking about us too," said Sirius over his shoulder. "And I don't see anything beyond talking tonight serving us much good. Not when we can't snog without it becoming a brawl."

Sirius turned around so he could face Winifred fully as he said what he intended to next.

"Win, I think we're brilliant together, I do, but I need to know you're as serious about that as I am. If you're looking for a bit of fun, whether it's at Snape's expense or for some other reason, then I can't have a large part in it," Sirius explained softly. "I'm not serious about a whole lot in this life but I do find a few things sacred now and again. This is one of them."

"Maybe you're over thinking things," pointed Winifred.

"And maybe you need to think things over," replied Sirius urgently. "I've got my priorities sorted out concerning you, but I barely know where I stand in your book. I need something to go on here, Winifred, before I end up in a place that I'm not going to come out of unscathed if you decided fun and games are over."

Winifred's look was truly reproachful at this point when regarding Sirius.

"I don't believe it. Are _you_ lecturing _me_ on maturity?" she demanded.

Sirius fixed his blue eyes on Winifred before offering her a stiff nod.

"Kind of lets you know how bad things are when I come off as the responsible one doesn't it?" remarked Sirius as he made his way to the door.

"So is that it?" asked Winifred in a hot tone that didn't support her usual cool demeanor.

"I'm not the one confused about where we stand love," said Sirius without looking aback as he entered the corridor. "And as soon as you've found your piece of clarity, be sure to pass it along in my direction."

Arabella and the girls

"So. . ." Cassidy began before clearing her throat, "um. . .well. . .er. . .what was it like?"

The five faces in the room went varying shades of crimson, none darker than Arabella's. She smiled awkwardly at the floor, moving her lips as though she was preparing to say something but stopping at the last moment. It was odd to see the girl who was notorious in their Year for chattering ceaselessly so without words.

Finally, Arabella mustered some words without looking any of the other girls straight in the eye.

"It was. . .nice. . ." Arabella breathed with an expression of lingering rapture.

"That's the best yeh can do on it all?" Cassidy raised her eyebrow with a queer look.

"I don't know. . .she makes _nice_ sound pretty wonderful," Gwen stated with a sigh as she hugged onto a pillow.

"Yer too innocent, single, and stumpy teh be think'n about mak'n _nice _with boys," Cassidy insisted in a protective note.

Gwen chucked her pillow full speed at Cassidy's head, pegging her with a clean shot.

"I HAVE RILEY!" screeched Gwen indignantly.

Cassidy pulled the pillow from her face so she could shoot a meaningful look at Gwen.

"He better not be suggest'n nice things teh yeh since yeh've only been going out fer a week!" huffed Cassidy defensively. Calming down she turned her eyes onto Millicent with a wicked sort of grin. "What 'bout yeh Millie seeing as yeh have a man in yer life now?"

"OhIreallydon'tthinkthatweneedtoworryaboutallthat!" Millicent chocked out in one long squeak, as she took to wringing her hands while looking entirely mortified. "HonestlyCassidywhateverputssuchnotionsintoyourheadI'llneverunderstand – "

"This is why I get up in the mornings," Cassidy decided with a laugh.

The room erupted into high-pitched laughter in response to Millicent's flustered embarrassment. Even Millicent, once she realized that Cassidy was having a bit of sport with her, managed an uneasy smile and nervous giggle. Gwen and Arabella offered a queasy tint to their amused expressions, however, since Snape was a necessary part of this equation.

"I bet the next one of us to be sharing wisdom on the issue will be Lily though," Gwen announced when the laughter died down, "her and James have been going out about as long as Remus and Arabella haven't they."

All the eyes in the room drew upon Lily as she fell silent with a thoughtful expression.

"We've been going out a fair amount of time," was all Lily would admit to.

"Well what the hell are yeh doing teh keep him still interested in yeh?" Cassidy teased.

"We do normal couple things," Lily replied with a purposeful vagueness.

Gwen will wonder if all the other boys are talking about this too. Arabella would be scandalized at the thought of Remus sharing while no one points out the implied irony of it all. Cassidy will tell Arabella that if it makes her feel better Sirius and James probably pinned him to the floor and tortured him until he confessed and began to accept their peels of admirations and congratulatory embraces.

"You really do have precious little faith in the male gender don't you Cassidy?" Millicent noted with her best attempt at sarcasm.

Cassidy stole a glance at Lily before grinning broadly.

"Actually I think the problem is I get them a little too well sometimes," Cassidy chuckled.

It was a fair early evening over Diagon Alley however dark clouds to the north alluded to rain after dark. Until then, the restaurants of wizarding London were committed to keeping their outdoor seating available. Gathered around an iron patio table with picked over portions of dinners and a lukewarm kettle of tea, Aurora Black ignored the slight chill of the English spring to savor the company of some old school friends.

Dorcas Meadows, a fellow Ravenclaw alumni, had sent a post to Aurora that had served very much like a Howler without sound. Evidently her former housemate had grown irritable with Aurora's lack of correspondence and accused her of becoming a shut-in after Malfoy jilter their engagement or whatever had happened as Dorcas reiterated how Aurora DID NOT WRITE ENOUGH. After her three and a quarter paged of chiding, Dorcas invited Aurora to an evening meal with their friends Frank Longbottom and, a prior Hufflepuff of their mutual Year, Marlene McKinnon.

After graduation, as more wizarding citizens do, Aurora and others of her year found jobs within the Ministry of Magic still that fact did not always allow for time to catch up with one another. Frank, of course, was an Auror in the Department of Magical Law enforcement which had him out and about more than behind a desk. Dorcas worked within the Ministry in an effort to create new and better spells which meant a generous knowledge of charms and dead tongues were her preoccupation. Marlene was working within the Department of Mysteries and did not discuss what she did however remained the more personable employee of the department.

Smiling between sips of her tea, Aurora felt it was her turn to conduct the conversation they had been in the middle of.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but what inspired this impromptu school reunion?" Aurora asked curiously.

Marlene's expression became quickly amused as she glanced to Dorcas.

"Well initially I thought it would be nice to bring the girls from our Year back together before we gave you a proper send off as the new Madam Malfoy," Marlene confessed, "but as soon as word wormed its way back to my ear that your engagement was subject to Rita's active imagination and frantic quill we decided you could use a pick me up."

"That and something in Rita's likeness," Dorcas chirped as she passed a voodoo doll with wavy blonde locks dangling from the top.

Aurora accepted the doll with an entertained expression and prodded it with the tip of her fingernail for affect. Marlene leaned over her shoulder with an appraising eye.

"It could double for Lucius if with straighten the hair up a bit," she observed with a chuckle.

"I appreciate the token of your support," Aurora said as way of thank you to her friends.

"Well Rita was always a bit of a cow even when we were in school," Dorcas insisted earnestly. "I reckon she only kept company with us so she would be on the inside track of all the best gossip."

"Well Aurora was practically queen of Hogwarts Castle back in the day," Marlene added on with a reminiscent look. "She and Lucius had the eye and ear of everyone and we were her loyal ladies in waiting."

"Have to admit that I wouldn't have minded standing in line for Lucius back then," Dorcas added. "But he was less of a swelled-headed git back then."

"No he was still a git, you just allowed his pretty head to turn yours," Aurora corrected smiling.

"I'll second that bit," Frank said with a grim look. "I always said the only good thing about Lucius Malfoy was Aurora Black and the only bad thing about Aurora Black was her taste in men."

"Yes, Frank, I believe that was your bloody quote in the Gryffindor memoirs book for our Year," Dorcas chuckled.

"You're just sore that I was preaching the Merlin truth all these years," Frank quipped before glancing at Aurora and realizing a round of I-told-you-so's were not in order. "Sorry, luv."

"We'll let Aurora serve as the authority since she did date him for the better part of a decade," Dorcas reasoned.

"Perhaps I should have pinched you a time-turner, though I imagine that Augustus Rookwood would have birthed a dragon to find one missing," Marlene mused.

"Not at all," Aurora shook her head, "the experience of it all must be worth something in the end. Those content to live in the past cannot see the present and make poor plans for the future."

"So what's on your bright horizon, Aurora?" Marlene prompted with inquiring, bright eyes before she scrunched her face into itself. "Bother, that was such stupid pun you would have thought I did it on purpose."

The others at the table appeared content to ignore Marlene's absent-minded commentary in the interests of carrying on with her initial question.

"I heard the wildest speculation concerning that," Dorcas interjects as she looked Aurora over. "Tell me if this is true, but I heard you were already back on the broom handle concerning dating."

"Don't say?" Frank commented with interest. It was a cautious enthusiasm, however, as he had an air about him that suggested he half thought Aurora was about to confess to dating some mountain troll. Undoubtedly this was a concern won after ten years spent having to sit side-lines to Aurora and Malfoy's less than storybook romance.

"I didn't," Aurora reminded. "There was. . .something, but it didn't work out. It probably could never have."

Dorcas, Frank, and Marlene exchanged looks, searching one another's features to see if they had more information that the others. Dissatisfied, they turned back to Aurora with expectant expressions.

"Well?" Marlene pressed in case they weren't being clear enough.

"We had different backgrounds. He was a pureblood, but it's one of those anachronistic families that cling to all the traditions that are out of fashion," Aurora explained, realizing that her three friends probably wouldn't let up without a little more information.

"Are we talking about Lucius again?" Frank said half in jest.

"I reckon not, but half my department are just like that. The head, Arcanus Snape, you'd swear from his haughtiness that if he bled it'd be concentrated magic or something, of the like" snorted Marlene.

"His son's a vindictive little prat too," added Frank, "that whole thing with Aurora's brother last January was ugly and Snape's son certainly was no help. You could tell if he had his way in the world, he'd have had Sirius' head over a prank that got away from itself."

Aurora hoped her face betrayed nothing as she persisted to smile serenely along, her famed default expression.

"Well tell me he was at least gorgeous so I can live vicariously through you as you rob cradles," Dorcas sighed.

"It wasn't about looks, youth, or sex or whatever you want to think," Aurora corrected quickly. "It was the opposite, actually. It was about meeting someone whom you thought understood you and made all that superficial things most people get hung up on seem entirely pointless."

The witches and wizard in Aurora's company took a moment to digest this information as they took a few bites of their meal in silence. After a few firm chews, Aurora tacked on an epilogue to her statement.

"Besides if all I wanted was a shag Merlin knows I could just go to Lucius." shrugged Aurora with a coy grin.

Dorcas and Marlene nearly choked on their meals as they started to laugh. Frank took a sip off his goblet before rolling his eyes.

"Bloody hell, Aura, _I_ could probably just go to Lucius for a shag," Frank quipped.

At this point everyone began to choke on their respective drinks and food.

"I'm sure Alice would love to hear that," Marlene refused to end her laughter.

Frank waved off at the three witches as he raised his goblet rather than set it down.

"Okay, enough of the jokes, let's be serious for a moment hmm? How about a toast to health and happiness since I doubt any of us know when we'll all be together like this again," proposed Frank.

The women obliged as they brought their own goblets to the sky.

"To old friends: as loyal and loved as family," began Marlene.

"To promising futures and fighting the good fight without fear," Dorcas jostled her glass as well.

"To remembering the good times, familiar faces, and unforgettable friends," added Frank with sincerity and a smile.

Finally Aurora put her own goblet to her friends with a smile.

"To kisses that save the day and endings that are happily ever after," Aurora insisted with a look of growing seriousness.

"And to heroes over villains and world without Voldemort's shadow."

A few reproachful and frightened looks that heard mention of the Dark Lords name eyed the table before not wanting to have anything more to do with them. The small party all took a solemn drink to finish their toast before they stared at one another.

"Do you think that's what will happen? Us and the rest of the Order will be heroes?" Marlene questioned softly.

"I do," Aurora stated with certainty. "We're so positively fabulous we'd have to be."

Aurora smiled behind her goblet. It was the same coy smile she had been using for years as both a passport in life and shield against the uncertainties of it. Her blue eyes shimmered between Marlene, Dorcas, and Frank. Some of the most brilliant minds of her generation and some of the noblest spirits she had the privilege to know personally.

"I've always believed, my friends, that it is better to play a small part in a big story rather than have no part at all," Aurora confided. "Greek lore taught me that."

"Trust me Aurora, you can't help but be epic," assured Frank.

Aurora leaned over and hissed Frank upon his round cheek.

"Well, there's still a few more pages to be written now isn't there?" she replied.

Dinner had finished up and the students were streaming into the corridors to head off to wherever they intended to spend the time before curfew. After watching Lestrange apparently attempt to wrestle something out of Tudor's mouth with his tongue, James was compelled to voice the concern that…

"Sometimes I get the impression that everyone is having sex but me," James sarcastically stated as he made his way with Sirius from the Great Hall.

"Well, let's hope Lily's not otherwise poor luck for you mate," Sirius joked. "Of course if Peter makes you the last virgin standing I'd recommend you turn your wand on yourself and die like the man you were never made into."

James cocked his head towards Sirius so he could properly scowl in the direction of his supposed best friend.

"Do you just sit about and think of things to make me want to watch you pick your teeth up from the floor?" James spat.

"Passes the time in between shagging," Sirius shrugged with a chuckle as he patted James on the back.

James abandoned Sirius's hand and his own foul expression for a curious look.

"How much time?" he inquired of Sirius.

"About 17 years," Sirius promptly replied. It had long since been deemed that Sirius Black had no shame to speak of.

"You're putting me on," insisted James.

"If you insist," said Sirius without much protest.

James loved Sirius like a brother and was fond of him in more respects that he warranted at times, but even James had to admit that it struck him as off-color for the suave, popular, and rash Sirius Black to be entirely virginal.

Particularly since he was a notorious fibber.

"Wait, you never slept with anyone? Not ever?" James pressed in an attempt to clarify.

"No. I mean, I've gotten some pretty generous or otherwise tempting offers but even I think some things are sacred, man," explained Sirius with an amused look meeting James's perplexed one. "Nice to know you think I get about like a stray dog though."

"That's not what I meant," siad James hastily. "I just thought you'd be the first one of us to is all."

"Well that honor belongs to Moony," Sirius pointed out. "Good on him I say. Madly in love and with one of the best girls to walk these halls. Only happy memories there."

James nodded to this. He wanted to think that Remus and Arabella would be together forever, have a half dozen children, and spend their lives annoying one another in their own loving way. Of course there was a far line to tread between what James thought and what might actually happen with their relationship. Still Sirius was not without a point. Could Remus and Arabella really claim to having any regrets if they had slept with one another while being completely in love? Some things, as Sirius said, are sacred and some moments are precious and it was a rare sort of alignment when these two happened to overlap.

James thought he would be wildly lucky to have something so perfect even if it was for only a little while.

Keeping with the vein of the conversation, James eyed Sirius before asking.

"So how about you and Winifred?" James asked.

Sirius's mouth threatened a sneer.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

Guessing Peter's constant ragging, the disapproving mutterings in Gryffindor, and outright jabs of Slytherin was putting Sirius on the defensive, James attempted to rationalize his question.

"I don't mean to imply anything about her, Padfoot. It was more a general question than anything. It's just that you've never quite gone on about a girl like you do for Wilkes and I wanted to know how that was treating you is all," James said almost apologetically.

Sirius's expression softened, showing his own measure of remorse for biting his best friend's head off for his question.

"I'm keeping things slow and steady, though Win isn't making it easy on me," Sirius reposted casually. "She's a little more. . . advanced in the progression of relationships than I am but, hell, I think she could have done better for herself some of the times before and it's a pity she settled."

Sirius paused to shake his head slightly mournfully.

"I just don't want to be the latest creepy guy to make off with a little bit of her soul."

"You can't be that guy, Sirius," James assured earnestly. "You're too decent. I mean that."

"Thanks,"

James talks to Lily in the commons after lights out (unable still to get into her room) and is just happy that things aren't as complicated for them as other people they know.

"James, are you expecting something. . .specific to happen once you find your way around McGonagall's charm?" Lily questioned with a deep stare.

James reddened slightly and tried to hide it behind a copy of _Defying Defenses_.

"Well. . .honestly no, but," he replied slightly uneasily, "the thing of it is that's for me and you to decide, not McGonagall or anyone else."

Lily nodded along as she hugged herself slightly. She stole a glance at the fire before looking back to find James's hazel eyes still on her.

"For the sake of argument, what have we decided on?" Lily wondered.

James set down his book while he began to run his hand though his mess of hair.

"I, um, well I really don't know," James confessed, "we've never really much discussed the matter since – well since Christmas. . . and that was five months ago about."

"I suppose we haven't," said Lily a bit awkwardly.

She couldn't be sure if it was the present conversation or her previous behavior that had made her suddenly feel a bit self-conscious. Still keeping his eyes on her, James slid down the length of the couch and put an arm around her shoulders, hugging Lily to his frame.

"Did you want to talk about it now?" James asked softly. His tone suggested that he was more interested in the exchange rather than pressing the issue.

"It's probably about time we did," Lily agreed with a sigh, "what do you think, James?"

James thought he didn't want to be the one to give his opinion first, that's what James thought.

Breathing in deeply, James began to evaluate his whole opinion on the intimacy of his and Lily's relationship and how willing he was to advocate a change in it. He loved Lily and, when he cared to think that far ahead, saw the two of them being together for a very long time. Of course any major change, specifically a change like the one they were hinting around at, might be a gamble of their currently existing happiness.

Still Lily had asked what he thought.

"I think. . ." James began carefully while liking his lips, ". . .I'm very happy the way things are now; however, there are times when I think I would be happier if things were a tad more. . .developed between us."

James studied Lily's expression, searching for any signs that she thought of him as just your typical randy young wizard angling on behalf of his wand. At the moment she appeared to simply be listening to his argument without any emotion registering upon her face. With this, James decided to explain himself a bit more properly.

"I know it's not entirely the most chivalrous stance I could take on the matter, but the way I love you is the only thing I can feel with any sort of certainly all the time. I'd be lying if I said that I never thought about things becoming more serious between the both of us, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to wait on it until you're comfortable with that as well," James took Lily's hand into his own and squeezed it gently, "And I mean that, you know. That kind of thing isn't what's important to me. _You're_ what's important to me. And if it's not what you want then I can get along brilliantly without it."

Lily nodded as she rested her head against James's chest and closed her eyes. They said nothing for a moment, as both of them were evidently reflecting upon James's stance on the matter. Burying his face into the side of her sweet smelling hair, James breathed close to her ear.

"So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking. . ." Lily started slowly as her eyes opened, "that neither of us has said 'sex', 'making love', or even 'shagging' at this point. We just keep saying 'it' or 'that sort of thing' . . .something along those lines. . ."

James thought about this observation briefly.

"I suppose we have," he finally decided that there was a vague quality to this discussion. Perhaps it was so no one overhearing them could incriminate them with the specifics but even James couldn't say that with certainty.

Pulling herself up slightly so Lily could look at James a little more directly she smiled gently.

"So I think that when you and I are perfectly comfortable with uttering those words in reference to ourselves then we'll be ready to actually consider doing them," Lily stated.

The seventeen year old wizard in James had to admit that wasn't quite the response he had been hoping for but everything else found the will to whole-heartedly smile and nod.

"That sounds fair," James agreed as she settled himself comfortable against Lily as she did with him.

The sporadic crackling of the fireplace served as the only noise in the room for a while as Lily and James were more than content to wordlessly hold one another in the flickering amber light of the flames. Silently James positioned his face before Lily's and slowly began to run his lips over her perfect, soft ones.

"So, since we can say words like 'snogging', 'spooning' and 'petting' we get to do those right?" James joked quietly.

Lily laughed slightly against her boyfriend's grinning mouth.

"That we most certainly do," Lily agreed.

"Fabulous," James said before he began to deeply kiss the girl he loved.

Ever-so gradually, James reclined the pair of them onto the common room couch so they could more comfortably pursue that which he had previously suggested.


End file.
